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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE 
WORLD 


BROWSING 

'ROUND 
THE  WORLD 


A  SERIES  OF  LETTERS  DESCRIBING  THE 

INCIDENTS  AND  EVENTS  OF  A 

JOURNEY  THROUGH 

JAPAN,  THE  PHILIPPINES, 
CHINA,  MALAY  STATES, 
BURMA,  INDIA,  CEYLON, 
EGYPT,  ITALY,  SWITZER- 
LAND, FRANCE,  ENGLAND 


BY 
BERTHA  ADELE  PENNY 


DEDICATION 

To  the  numerous  friends  who  have 
requested  the  publication  of  these  let- 
ters, and 

To  Mr.  D.  F.  Robertson,  the  "Sun- 
shine" of  the  party  of  Californians 
who  toured  the  world  in  1911-1912, 
this  volume  is  affectionately  dedi- 
cated. 

BERTHA   ADELE    PENNY. 


Long    Beach,    California. 
1912. 


2082703 


I   know   not   where    His    islands    lift 
Their  fronded   palms   in   air; 

I  only  know  I  cannot  drift 
Beyond  His  love  and  care. 

— Whittier. 


CONTENTS 

Los   Angeles   to   Japan 1 

Japan     10 

Japan    Continued    20 

Manila    36 

China     49 

Toward    the    Equator 60 

Picturesque   Sea  Highway 70 

Burma    80 

India's   Coral   Strand 86 

India    Continued    94 

India    Continued    107 

India    Continued    114 

India    Continued    123 

Ceylon     131 

historic    Waters    141 

Egypt    148 

Egypt    Continued    158 

From   Africa  to   Europe 165 

From    Rome    to   India 173 

Paris     177 

London    178 

Brain   Fag    179 


LOS  ANGELES  TO  JAPAN 
Train  to  Seattle 

The  resident  of  Southern  California  starting  out  to 
girdle  the  globe,  wonders  if  in  all  his  worldwandering, 
he  will  find  another  spot  as  fair  as  his  own  sunny  land. 
Starting  from  Los  Angeles  on  a  bright  autumn  morn- 
ing, one  sees,  as  the  train  speeds  northward,  a  wonder- 
ful panorama  of  mountain  and  valley,  sea  and  shore. 
Tiny  ranches  are  tucked  away  in  the  foothills,  their 
checkered  patchwork  of  cultivation  brightly  green 
against  the  rugged  brown  background  of  hills.  Great 
fit-Ids  of  alfalfa  are  in  the  fertile  valleys — valleys  once 
a  barren  desert,  reclaimed  by  the  patience  and  ingenuity 
of  man. 

We  passed  vast  fields  of  cacti,  perhaps  the  spineless 
sort  evolved  by  the  immortal  wizard,  Luther  Burbank 
What  a  pity  Mr.  Burbank  does  not  turn  his  attention 
fiom  the  vegetable  to  the  animal  kingdom,  and  produce 
something  with  a  spine.  For  instance,  a  species  of 
strong  vertebrated  men  and  women  to  replace  the  spine- 
less creatures  we  often  meet  in  that  ultra-set  called  the 
idle  rich. 

In  Ventura  county,  miles  of  Lima  beans  were  be- 
ing harvested  as  we  rushed  along.  Great  cook  wagons 
stood  in  the  fields,  and  armies  of  workmen  toiled  like 
ants  about  the  threshers,  from  the  engines  of  which 
smoke  arose  like  incense  from  a  mighty  censer.  Huge 
v-agons  laden  with  the  spoils  of  the  harvest  and  drawn 

1 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

by  eight  horses  moved  slowly  along  the  road,  enroute 
to  the  nearest  shipping  point.  Red-roofed  ranch  houses, 
picturesquely  set  in  the  midst  of  groves  of  trees  dotted 
the  landscape.  Near  Ventura  we  came  in  sight  of  the 
sea,  dimpling  and  sparkling  in  the  sunlight,  its  opales- 
cent surface  reflecting  the  azure  of  the  heavens.  Far- 
ther north  the  coast  line,  weaving  in  and  out,  now  ap- 
pearing, then  lost  to  view,  seemed  as  sinuously  elusive 
at.  a  dish  of  spaghetti  that  a  novice  attempts  to  corral. 
On  the  stiff  grades  the  sheer  cliffs  stretched  away  on 
either  side,  scarred  and  serrated  with  the  marks  of  in- 
finite age.  Near  the  busy  hum  of  business  marts  we 
glimpsed  the  brown  walls  of  old  missions,  and  thought 
that  even  in  this  newest  part  of  our  new  country,  we 
have  antique  piles  comparable  in  romantic  interest,  at 
least,  with  the  ruins  of  the  Old  World. 

And  so  it  was,  throughout  California,  the  eye  con- 
stantly regaled  with  scenic  beauty;  with  the  meadows 
ablaze  with  the  bloom  of  wild  flowers;  with  the  rosy 
blush  of  ripening  fruit  in  orchard  and  garden;  with  the 
wonderful  distances  of  sea  and  plain;  with  the  peace 
of  the  everlasting  hills  brooding  over  all;  and  when  the 
sun  sank  behind  the  distant  peaks  and  the  purple 
shadows  of  tw Tight  gave  way  to  the  dark  curtain  of 
night,  we  sighed  at  the  thought  that  the  land  we  love 
so  well  would  be  lost  to  us  for  many  months. 


vSailing  Day 


The  sailing  day  of  a  huge  ocean  liner  is  always  an 
interesting  one  to  people  dwelling  in  harbor  cities  and 
to  the  visitor  from  an  inland  town,  to  whom  all  shipping 
is  a  novelty.  On  the  days  when  these  boats  are  to  sail 
the  docks  are  filled  with  an  eager  crowd — many  coming 
merely  to  satisfy  curiosity,  others  to  say  goodbye  to 
friends. 

2 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

We  boarded  the  "Minnesota,"  which  was  to  sail  at 
about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  after  finding  our 
state  room  and  seeing  that  our  baggage  was  deposited 
therein,  we  hurried  on  deck  to  watch  the  passengers  ar- 
rive, and  gather  in  the  sights  and  sounds  of  harbor  life. 
All  was  bustle  and  confusion.  The  creaking  and  groan- 
ing of  the  great  cranes  hauling  up  freight  from  the  dock 
and  depositing  it  in  the  black  depths  of  the  hold,  in- 
termingled with  the  strange  jargon  of  the  roustabouts, 
was  deafening. 

The  morning  was  cold,  gray  and  threatening,  but 
the  elements  did  not  keep  back  the  human  tide  that 
surged  on  the  dock  beneath  us.  Autos  glided  up,  de- 
positing passengers.  Messenger  boys  leisurely  climbed 
the  stairs,  bearing  huge  florist  boxes  and  baskets  of 
fruit.  A  group  of  Dunkards,  bidding  goodbye  to  some 
missionaries  of  their  faith — the  clerical  attire  of  the  men, 
and  the  dark  clothes  and  close-fitting  plain  bonnets  of 
the  women,  giving  a  somber  note  to  the  kaleidoscopic 
mass  of  color.  There  were  pretty  girls  with  arms  laden 
with  long-stemmed  American  Beauty  roses;  Chinese 
deck  boys,  in  queer  little  blue  garments;  ships  officers 
in  brilliant  uniform;  babies  in  arms  and  babies  tod- 
dling; steerage  passengers,  men  in  strange  foreign  garb, 
wildly  kissing  each  other  goodbye;  patriotic  women  pas- 
sengers waving  tiny  American  flags;  pervading  all,  a 
combined  odor  of  tarred  rope,  Celestial  smells,  turbid, 
seaweedy  water,  and  the  smell  of  cooking  food.  On  the 
dock  and  on  the  deck,  teary  farewells  and  twisted 
smiles;  above,  the  gray  lowering  heavens  seemingly 
about  to  weep.  Out  on  the  sound  tugs  were  darting 
about,  puffing  and  shrieking;  sea  birds  circling  low  over 
the  water,  uttering  strange  discordant  cries;  many  for- 
eign ships  stood  majestically  at  anchor,  proudly  bear- 
ing their  country's  flag;  numberless  small  pleasure  craft 
dotted  the  sound,  the  glint  of  their  burnished  metal 
the  only  note  of  color  in  the  enveloping  grayness;  on 

3 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

the   rugged   shore   the   tall,   straight   pines   looked   black 
and  dismal  in  the  mist. 

At  last  the  gong  sounds  a  warning,  and  the  command, 
"All  ashore  that's  going  ashore,"  sends  the  visitors 
scurrying  down  the  stairs.  A  group  of  pig-tail  Celes- 
tials haul  in  the  gangway,  and  the  city  and  the  dock, 
with  its  howling  waving  mass  of  humanity,  seem  to 
glide  away  from  us.  We  leaned  on  the  deck  rail  and 
gazed  with  mingled  emotions  at  the  fast  receding  shore. 
Presently  the  recreant  sun  pushed  aside  the  gray  cloud- 
curtain,  and  a  radiance  illumined  the  scene,  changing 
somber  tones  to  blue  and  silver.  The  Cascade  range  of 
mountains,  dark  blue  and  clear  cut  as  a  cameo,  stood 
etched  against  the  sky.  The  ragged  shoreline,  wooded 
to  the  water's  edge,  was  reflected  in  the  placid  depths 
of  the  sound.  As  the  sun  sank  low  in  the  heavens,  the 
pearly  whiteness  of  the  snow-crowned  mountains  be- 
came tinged  with  pink,  and  a  rosy  blush  suffused  the  now 
azure  sky.  This  vivid  coloring  soon  sank  into  paler  tints, 
pastel  shades  of  soft  gray  and  mauve,  and,  as  we  stood 
with  straining  eyes  gazing  at  our  beloved  homeland,  the 
shore  line  sank  on  the  horizon  in  the  gray  twilight  of  de- 
parting day. 

*     *     * 

Ijfe  at  Sea 

An  observant  person  is  not  affected  with  ennui  on 
an  ocean  voyage,  even  though  he  does  not  see  land 
for  over  two  weeks.  If  he  believes  with  Pope  that  the 
proper  study  of  mankind  is  man,  he  will  have  little 
time  to  indulge  in  homesickness.  The  proper  vantage 
ground  for  such  study  is  a  deck  chair,  the  time, 
any  hour  of  the  day.  Just  lie  back  comfortably  wrapped 
in  y6ur  rugs,  and  watch  the  tide  of  humanity  flow  by. 

Our  fellow  passengers  are  mostly  Americans.  Almost 
every  state  is  represented,  California  sending  the  great- 
est number.  There  is  a  sprinkling  of  many  nationalities; 

4 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

Englishmen,  many  of  them  in  business  in  the  Orient, 
others,  confirmed  globe  trotters;  Scotch  linen  buyers, 
taking  linens  to  Japan  to  be  embroidered;  wives  of 
English  army  officers  stationed  in  the  colonies;  two  dis- 
tinguished looking  Russians,  who  do  not  mingle  with 
their  fellow  voyagers;  a  Hungarian  violinist  of  note; 
the  British  Consul-General  to  Bangkok;  a  noted  London 
newspaper  critic;  American  school  marms,  with  a  com- 
mission to  teach  in  the  Philippines;  a  gay  young  Ger- 
man sprig  of  nobility,  wearing  a  bracelet  watch  and 
struggling  with  imperfect  English;  a  supreme  judge 
from  Hong  Kong;  a  British  peer;  Los  Angeles  society 
girls  and  well  known  club  women  from  the  same  city. 
There  are  also  a  number  of  women  going  out  to  be  mar- 
ried to  men  in  the  colonies.  Many  of  them  were  of  un- 
certain age,  but  each  was  placed  carefully  under  the  pro- 
tective care  of  the  captain.  To  the  casual  observer  it 
would  seem  that  such  chaperonage  was  unnecessary,  but 
one  thinks  one  owes  certain  obligations  to  conventions. 
And  so  we  are  in  a  little  world  of  our  own,  peopled,  it's 
true,  with  many  nationalities,  but  away  from  the  fret 
of  town  and  city,  in  the  peaceful  environment  of  sea 
and  sky. 

The  passengers  on  this  ship  who  read  "Jinrikisha 
Days"  before  embarking,  and  prepared  for  bleak,  cold 
days,  howling  winds  and  blasts  of  rain,  were  wise  in 
their  generation,  for  we  have  had  in  ten  days,  only  two 
of  sunshine.  But  the  cold  does  not  keep  the  experienced 
traveler  in  doors.  The  polite  little  deck  stewards  swath 
us  like  mummies  in  innumerable  rugs,  with  hot  water 
bottles  for  hands  and  feet,  and  when  the  fitful  shivery 
wind  sweeps  the  deck,  the  recumbent  lounger  only  sinks 
more  deeply  in  his  deck  chair. 

The  more  vigorous  ones  keep  up  the  circulation  by 
playing  some  of  the  many  deck  games,  shuffle  board, 
ring  toss,  hand  ball  with  sand  bags  and  quoits.  Each 
evening  an  entertainment  of  some  description,  musical, 

5 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

literary,  bridge  or  a  lecture  is  given  in  the  saloon,  and 
on  Sunday  religious  services  are  held.  One  evening  a 
lancy  dress  ball  was  given  on  the  forward  deck,  which 
was  enclosed  with  awnings  and  gaily  decorated  with 
flags  and  bunting  and  illuminated  with  hundreds  of  tiny 
colored  electric  lights. 

The  serious  business  of  life  on  an  ocean  liner  is 
stowing  away  the  numerous  meals  served  the  passen- 
gers each  day.  We  begin  the  day  with  coffee  served, 
whether  we  want  it  or  not,  while  we  are  yet  in  bed 
and  avid  of  forty  more  winks.  Then  the  gong  rings 
for  breakfast  at  8:30.  At  11  beef  tea  and  wafers  are 
served  on  deck.  At  1  o'clock  tiffin  is  served.  Tiffin,  if 
you  please,  is  East  Indian  for  luncheon.  At  5  o'clock 
every  one  troops  down  to  the  saloon  for  tea  and  muffins, 
and  at  7  dinner  is  served  with  the  stately  accompani- 
ment of  decollete  frocks  and  swallow  tails.  At  10  o'clock 
all  who  have  not  locked  and  barred  their  doors  for  the 
night,  are  begged  to  indulge  in  a  "light"  supper  of  cold 
roast,  salads,  coffee,  etc.,  and  when  the  haven  of  our 
stateroom  is  finally  reached,  a  dish  of  fruit  to  stay 
hunger  during  the  night  greets  us.  It  is  needless  to 
add,  that  the  one  over-worked  man  on  the  boat  is  the 
doctor. 


Chinese  Crew 

The  crews  of  Pacific  steamers  are  Chinese,  and  the 
dining  room  boys  wear  a  garment  which  is  a  cross  be- 
tween the  sheath  gown,  beloved  of  the  feminine  heart 
the  past  year,  and  a  man's  night  shirt.  At  breakfast 
and  tiffin  these  gowns  are  blue,  with  deep  white  cuffs, 
and  at  dinner  they  are  all  white.  They  are  made  in 
one  piece  reaching  to  the  heels,  buttoned  down  one  side, 
and  so  narrow  that  the  garment  is  slit  up  at  the  sides, 

6 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

half  way  to  the  knees,  to  enable  the  wearer  to  shuffle 
along  in  some  semblance  of  comfort. 

We  have  the  greatest  difficulty  making  the  little  yel- 
low men  understand  our  wants,  and  it  is  just  as  dif- 
ficult to  understand  them.  Only  two  sentences  are  in- 
telligible to  me  so  far.  They  are:  "Can  do,"  and  "No 
can  do."  A  little  personal  experience  will  best  illus- 
trate their  density.  One  morning  I  asked  the  bedroom 
boy  for  hot  water.  He  said,  "No  can  do."  I  then  pro- 
duced a  hot  water  bottle  and  said,  "see,  get  warm,  eh?" 
A  look  akin  to  intelligence  passed  over  his  mask-like 
face  and  he  fled  precipitately  to  return  soon  bringing 
the  ship's  carpenter,  also  Chinese,  who  insisted  on  fix- 
ing something.  We  almost  had  to  send  in  a  riot  call 
to  rid  ourselves  of  him.  That  experience  reminds  me  of 
the  girl  who  was  traveling  in  Mexico.  She  could  speak 
no  Spanish,  and  she  wanted  some  milk.  She  could  not 
make  the  waiter  understand,  so  she  drew  a  picture  of 
a  cow  on  a  piece  of  paper.  The  waiter  understood  then. 
He  went  out  and  returned  with  a  ticket  to  the  bull  ,fight. 


Steerage 


In  browsing  around  the  ship  we  visited  the  Oriental 
steerage,  where  the  Chinese  passengers  have  their  quar- 
ters. Aside  from  the  collective  odor  of  Asiatic  human- 
ity one  encounters  in  visiting  Chinese  habitat,  there 
were  no  disagreeable  features  noticeable.  Order  and 
cleanliness  were  apparent  everywhere,  proving  a  fal- 
lacy the  popular  belief  that  the  steerage  is  filthy  and  un- 
wholesome. The  long  board  eating  table  and  benches 
were  scrubbed  white,  and  in  the  kitchen,  where  a  savory 
mess  was  stewing,  the  same  cleanliness  prevailed. 

The  few  Chinese  who  were  not  benumbed  with 
opium,  were  playing  a  gambling  game,  their  faces  ab- 
solutely wooden.  Tiers  of  bunks  swung  from  the  sceil- 

7 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

ing  and  in  many  of  them  lay  the  yellow  Celestials  in  a 
blissful  opium  stupor.  A  Chinese  baby  boy,  three  years 
old,  was  being  taught  the  jiu  jitsu  by  his  father.  He 
wound  his  tiny  feet  about  his  father's  ankles  and 
wrest'.ed  vigorously.  The  indications  are  that  he  will 
get  the  strangle  hold  on  some  one  before  many  years. 
In  the  women's  quarters  the  child's  mother  lay  in  her 
bunk  suffering  from  sea  sickness.  She  smiled  a  wel- 
come to  us  from  her  slant,  black  eyes,  when  we  said, 
"Ohayo."  The  bunks  were  covered  with  gaily  colored 
Oriental  fabric,  and  hanging  in  conspicuous  places  were 
strange  wooden  idols,  beautifully  hand  carved.  Before 
these  Joss,  tiny  candles  and  lamps  of  vegetable  oil 
burned,  and  prayer  slips  were  heaped  on  the  altars. 

There  was  an  unusual  chattering  in  the  long  syllabled 
Chinese  jargon  one  morning,  and  we  learned  that  one 
of  the  crew  had  died  during  the  night.  His  body  was 
embalmed  and  placed  in  one  of  the  coffins  which  the 
Chinese  always  carry  on  shipboard.  The  body  will  be 
taken  back  to  China,  as  the  steamship  company  is  under 
contract  with  the  Chinese  government  to  return  to  his 
native  dust  the  body  of  any  Chinaman  dying  during  a 
voyage. 

*    *     * 


A  Day  Lost 


An  interesting  incident  on  a  Pacific  liner  is  "Crossing 
the  line,"  the  180th  meridian,  the  beginning  and  end 
of  the  calendar  day,  noontime  of  which  is  Greenwich. 
Going  westward  the  voyager  loses  a  day,  and  unless  he 
returns  over  the  same  route,  he  will  always  be  one  day 
short,  so  far  as  the  calendar  goes. 

We  went  to  bed  on  Sunday  night  and  the  next  morn- 
ing awoke  to  find  it  Tuesday.  We  had  slipped  a  cog 
and  Monday  had  passed  away.  There  was  considerable 
discomfort  attendant  upon  its  passing,  for,  during  the 

8 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

night  we  encountered  the  tail  of  a  retreating  typhoon, 
and  the  boat  cut  up  in  a  very  unseemly  manner  for 
Sunday.  It  dove  down  fore,  then  aft  and  humped  up 
amidships  for  all  the  world  like  a  bucking  broncho  try- 
ing to  ditch  its  rider.  The  four  winds  of  heaven  twisted 
us  first  this  way  then  that,  and  high  seas  swept  over 
the  deck.  Frenzied  females  in  nondescript  attire 
thronged  the  corridors,  hugging  valuables  to  their  bos- 
oms. The  only  man  who  was  frightened  went  to  bed 
with  a  life  belt  on,  to  be  ready  for  any  emergency.  He 
dropped  off  to  sleep  and  placidly  slept  through  the  storm. 
Isn't  that  just  like  a  man? 

The  captain's  dinner  on  the  last  night  before  reach- 
ing Japan  was  the  notable  event  of  the  voyage.  During 
the  dinner  prizes  were  awarded  the  successful  con- 
testants in  the  various  deck  sports  and  games,  and  many 
toasts  were  drunk  to  the  ship's  officers  and  distinguished 
passengers. 

The  traveler  who  flippantly  remarks,  "After  all,  the 
world  is  quite  small,  you  know,"  is  not  a  good  guesser. 
After  seventeen  days  spent  on  the  sea,  with  never  a  sight 
of  land,  one  feels  that  there  is  entirely  too  much  water. 
There's  a  dreadful  waste  of  wetness, — one-third  would 
be  quite  enough. 

We  shall  reach  the  Nippon  Empire  tomorrow,  two 
days  overdue. 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


JAPAN 


'Fair  Japan3 


The  traveler  in  Japan  may  just  as  well  make  up  his 
mind  to  agree  with  the  poet,  Riley,  that — 
"It's  no  use  to  grumble  and  complain 

It's  just  as  easy  to  rejoice 
When  God  sorts  out  the  weather,  and  sends  rain 

Why,   rain's   my   choice." 

For  it's  an  even  bet  that  he  will  see  rain  three  hundred 
and  sixty-five  and  one-fourth  days  out  of  every  year, 
with  an  extra  hour  of  wetness  tucked  in  somewhere. 
One  begins  to  wonder  after  weeks  of  moisture  and 
cloudiness  if  the  title  Fair  Japan  is  not  a  fine  bit  of 
sarcasm. 

It's  true,  the  sun  shines  with  a  sort  of  coy,  veiled 
beauty  at  times  and  a  highly  colored  rainbow  appears, 
with  studied  dramatic  effect,  on  the  sky's  painted  drop 
curtain.  We  are  vouch-safed  a  ravishing  glimpse  of 
Fuji,  Japan's  wondrous  snow  covered  mountain,  when, 
suddenly,  a  passing  cloud  that  surely  belongs  to  the 
United  Order  of  Rainmakers,  drops  down  like  an  asbes- 
tos curtain  over  the  splendid  scene  and  we  philosophical- 
ly conclude  that  "it  is  not  raining  rain  at  all,  it's  raining 
violets  down,"  and  go  on  sight-seeing. 


Yokohama 

Yokohama,  v/here  the  voyager  from  American  shores 
first  lands,  is  the  leading  trading  port  of  Japan.     It  has 

10 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

a  picturesque  shore  line  bordered  with  many  beautiful 
suburbs.  The  bluff,  an  extensive  tract  of  elevated  ground 
is  the  residential  district.  It  is  an  ideal  spot,  dotted 
with  picturesque  little  villas  nestled  amid  evergreen 
trees  and  flowers,  and  completely  segregated  from  the 
trade  atmosphere  of  the  business  part  of  the  city  below. 

There  is  not  within  the  city  much  of  interest  for  the 
traveler,  aside  from  the  shops,  for  the  Oriental  is  fast 
being  crowded  out  by  the  European,  but  it  is  a  center 
from  which  many  delightful  excursions  may  be  made. 

The  Daibutsu,  the  great  bronze  image  of  Buddha,  is 
at  Kammakura,  a  beach  settlement  near  Yokohama. 
Here  also  are  many  temples  and  shrines.  Since  temples 
and  shrines  and  stone  representations  of  Buddha,  have 
been  the  theme  of  newspaper,  magazine  and  guide  book 
articles  from  time  immemorial,  these  letters  will  con- 
tain but  brief  mention  of  them,  but  instead,  will  be  more 
intimate  sketches  of  the  life,  manner  and  customs  of  the 
people.  . 

In  the  cities,  which  are  rapidly  becoming  European- 
ized,  the  customs  and  dress  of  our  country  are  fast 
crowding  out  the  picturesque  Oriental  life,  but  in  the 
hill  country,  in  villages,  the  natives  cling  steadfastly  to 
the  habits  and  traditions  of  a  long  past  era. 

In  a  province  near  Kyoto,  the  native  women  are  still 
wearing  a  band  of  white  across  the  bosom  as  a  badge 
of  mourning  for  an  emperor  who  died  seven  hundred 
years  ago.  It  seems  that  when  this  emperor  died,  an 
edict  was  issued  commanding  all  women  to  wear  this 
emblem  of  mourning  for  two  years.  At  the  end  of  the 
prescribed  time,  the  custom  had  become  a  fixed  habit 
and  has  continued  to  this  day.  In  many  provinces,  the 
custom  of  changing  the  coiffure  with  the  change  of 
name  in  marriage,  is  still  the  mode.  The  unmarried 
woman  wears  her  hair  brushed  stiffly  up  to  the  glossy, 
blue  black  coil,  which  all  Japanese  women  affect.  The 
wife  wears  a  loop  of  hair  depending  from  the  coil.  One 

11 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

would  never,  on  casual  inspection,  suspect  the  Japanese 
women  of  wearing  false  hair,  but  we  passed  a  store 
in  Kyoto  where  puffs  and  switches,  janes  and  rats  were, 
quite  brazenly,  exposed  for  sale.  Alas  for  the  dignity 
and  repose  of  Old  Japan.  American  false  hair  had  add- 
ed another  note  to  the  death  knell  of  her  vaunted  in- 
dividuality. 


Native  Dress 

Fortunately  for  the  picturesqueness  of  Japan,  the 
Japanese  women  cling  fondly  to  the  native  dress,  the 
kimono.  From  the  woman  of  the  highest  caste  in  her 
silks,  brocades  and  crepes,  to  the  humble  worker  in  the 
field  in  her  poor  cotton  gown,  the  style  of  the  garment 
is  the  same.  The  better  class  women  wear  a  rich  dark 
silk  kimono,  with  surplice  folds  of  white,  or  a  contrast- 
ing color  in  the  neck  of  the  garment.  She  wears  many 
under  kimonos  of  filmy  silk  and  about  the  waist  is 
wound  many  yards  of  silk  tied  in  a  flat  bow  in  the  back 
over  a  stiff,  square  pad.  The  sash  is  called  obi  and  for 
street  wear  is  of  dark  rich  silk,  but  for  festive  occasions 
is  bright  hued  and  heavily  embroidered.  The  purse, 
handkerchief  and  fan  are  carried  in  the  folds  of  the  obi. 
On  her  feet  she  wears  white  tabi,  the  digitated  socks 
which  the  Japanese  men  and  women  both  affect,  and 
either  wooden  clogs  or  sandals.  The  elaborately  coiffured 
glistening  black  hair  is  left  uncovered.  Japanese  women 
go  with  bared  heads  except  in  the  coldest  weather,  when 
a  dark  scarf  is  worn.  An  oiled  paper  umbrella  for  the 
frequent  rains,  completes  the  costume.  The  women  wear 
very  little  jewelry,  a  ring  or  bracelet  or  gaudy  hair 
ornament  satisfying  their  fancy  for  trinkets. 

There  is  a  diversity  of  attire  among  the  men  of 
Japan.  Many  business  men  as  well  as  those  in  official 
and  professional  life  wear  European  dress.  The  majority, 

12 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

however,  wear  the  kimono  of  dark  silk,  woolen  or  cot- 
ton according  to  the  station  in  life.  The  garment  is 
folded  tight  about  the  limbs  and  reaches  to  the  ankles. 
In  cold  weather  he  supplements  the  kimono  with  a  loose 
short  coat  of  the  same  cut.  Many  of  the  men  go  with 
uncovered  heads,  particularly  the  younger  men,  but 
others  wear  derby  or  straw  hats.  The  combination  of 
Japanese  and  European  is  incongruous.  The  men  are 
fine  specimens  of  physical  manhood.  Not  tall,  but 
brawny  and  athletic,  and  they  walk  with  a  graceful  bear- 
ing that  is  puzzling  when  one  looks  at  the  wooden  clogs 
on  the  feet.  When  one  recalls  the  little  aenemic  Jap- 
anese men  of  California,  one  wonders  if  the  "runts" 
are  sent  away  purposely  and  the  best  specimens  kept 
at  home. 

There  is  no  indication  of  race  suicide  in  Japan. 
There  are  babies  everywhere.  The  streets  are  full  of 
them  and  they  sprawl  in  very  doorway.  In  the  poorer 
streets  every  woman  one  meets  has  a  baby  strapped 
to  her  back,  its  round  shaven  head  lolling  helplessly  and 
its  black  bead-like  eyes  squinting  in  the  sun.  Not  only 
do  the  women  carry  babies  but  little  boys  and  girls  have 
a  similar  burden.  The  little  girl,  so  soon  as  she  begins 
to  walk,  has  her  "doll  strapped  on  her  back  so  that 
she  may  learn  to  carry  her  little  brother  or  sister  prop- 
erly when  she  shall  have  grown  large  and  strong  enough. 
It  does  not  interfere  in  the  least  with  the  romping  and 
playing  of  the  children.  They  seem  unconscious  of  the 
burden. 

The  side  streets,  aside  from  the  musical  clatter  of 
clogged  feet  on  the  pavement  and  the  warning  cry  of 
swiftly  running  jinrikisha  boys,  are  very  quiet.  The 
throngs  of  children  play  noiselessly  and  the  street  ven- 
ders have  a  sort  of  subdued  chant  which  they  monoton- 
ously repeat.  There  are  no  motorcycles  to  deafen  one 
with  hideous  noises,  no  heavily  rumbling  cabs  or  drays 
and  few  automobiles. 

13 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 
Jinrikishas 

The  chief  means  of  conveyance  in  Japan  is  the  jin- 
rikisha.  This  vehicle  was  invented  by  an  American,  a 
Yankee  missionary.  It  is  a  high,  two-wheeled,  rubber- 
tired  cart,  comfortably  upholstered  with  immaculately 
clean  linen  and  drawn  by  a  coolie.  If  Jinrikishas  were 
the  mode  in  the  States  they  would  soon  be  enlarged  to 
family  size  with  room  on  the  back  for  bags  and  trunks 
and  at  least  a  brace  of  coolies  running  tandem.  The 
coolie  wears  shirt,  tights  and  loose  coat  of  dark  blue 
cotton.  In  hot  weather  white  trunks  replace  the  long 
tjghts  and  the  coat  is  dispensed  with.  He  is  either 
barefooted  or  wears  straw  sandals  attached  to  the  feet 
by  a  thong  between  the  great  toe  and  the  other  toes. 
His  head  gear  is  a  straw  creation  shaped  like  a  wooden 
bread  bowl.  In  his  belt  at  the  back  hang  his  tobacco 
pouch  and  pipe. 

These  men  are  abnormally  developed  as  to  limbs 
and  chest,  due  to  the  eight  or  ten  hours  of  dog  trotting, 
daily,  pulling  heavy  loads.  The  charge  for  jinrikisha 
hire  is  seventy-five  cents  a  day  and  as  most  of  the  coolies 
are  in  the  employ  of  a  hotel  or  transfer  company  and  do 
not  own  their  vehicle,  one  can  readily  imagine  what  a 
small  part  of  the  seventy  five  cents  their  share  is.  How- 
ever, each  rider  is  supposed  to  give  his  human  steed  a 
small  tip,  about  ten  or  twenty  sen.  This  is  called  cum- 
sha,  tea  money.  In  making  a  turn  in  the  road  or  meet- 
ing another  vehicle,  the  head  coolie  utters  a  sharp  little 
cry  which  is  echoed  by  all  the  jinrikisha  boys  behind 
him  as  a  warning  to  others.  At  night  these  queer  ve- 
hicles are  illuminated  with  paper  lanterns  and  a  proces- 
sion of  them  flitting  by  in  the  darkness  looks  like  huge 
glow  worms. 

When  it  rains  the  coolie  dons  a  coat  of  straw  look- 
ing not  unlike  the  Hula  skirt  of  a  Hawaiian  dancing 
girl.  His  fare  is  comfortably  tucked  away  in  rubber 

14 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

blankets  which,  with  the  baby  carriage  cover  effectually 
excludes  the  rain.  Altogether,  the  jinrikisha  is  the  acme 
ot  comfort  and  enjoyment  as  a  mode  of  transportation. 


Scenic  Beauty 


We  are  in  a  toy  world.  Everything  in  Japan,  from 
the  tiniest  garden  to  Fuji,  the  world's  one,  absolutely 
symmetrical  mountain,  is  constructed  with  the  precision 
as  to  detail  and  outline  of  a  German  toy.  Even  in  the 
timber  lands  where  the  trees  grow  naturally,  one  is 
impressed  with  the  idea  that  they  were  planted  there 
tor  artistic  effect,  so  evenly  do  they  grow.  The  eye  is 
constantly  delighted  with  charming  vistas — sea  scapes 
and  landscapes,  not  of  long  distances,  but  ravishing 
bits  of  flashing  blue  sky  through  dim,  wooded  aisles. 
The  scenic  beauty  of  Japan  combines  and  harmonizes 
many  varieties  of  nature's  beauty  found  in  various 
countries  of  the  globe.  Being  surrounded  by  seas  on 
all  sides  its  rugged  coasts  and  picturesque  mountains 
form  an  artistic  picture  which  once  exposed  to  mem- 
ory's lens  is  indelibly  impressed. 

The  Japanese  have  an  easthetic  appreciation  of  the 
art  of  nature  in  harmonizing  the  color  of  blossoms  with 
that  of  the  leaves  and  stems,  so  a  single  spray  of  flowers 
or  a  branch  of  cherry  or  plum  tree  in  an  exquisite 
vase  expresses  to  them  a  more  artistic  effect  than  a 
huge  cluster  of  flowers.  They  are  surely  the  best  gar- 
deners in  the  world,  and  every  inch  of  the  ground  is 
cultivated.  If  the  Japanese  farmer  needs  all  of  his 
tiny  farm  for  growing  grain  or  vegetables,  he  grows 
flowers  in  boxes,  pans,  bits  of  rock  or  old  tree  stumps. 
Every  window  ledge  has  a  pot  of  dwarf  pine  and  chrys- 
anthemum or  other  flowering  plant.  The  stations  at 
even  the  smallest  villages  have  shelves  of  potted  plants. 
The  process  by  which  the  pine  trees  are  dwarfed  is  a 

15 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

carefully  guarded  secret  known  only  to  Japanse  garden- 
e^s.  Trees  not  more  than  ten  or  twelve  inches  high 
are  a  century  old.  The  gnarled  and  twisted  trunks  and 
sprawling  branches  are  considered  very  artistic. 

The  tiny  truck  farms  and  rice  fields  are  separated 
by  hedges  of  cape  jasmine  or  privet.  The  ridge  pole 
of  the  thatched  roof  of  the  peasant's  hut  has  a  row  of 
Chinese  lilies  turning  their  faces  up  to  the  refreshing 
rain  and  infrequent  sun.  These  lilies  furnish  food  for 
both  soul  and  body,  for  the  blossoms  and  odor  delight 
the  senses  and  the  bulbs  are  boiled  for  food.  The  edible 
Ictos  which  grows  so  profusely  in  Japan  serves  many 
purposes.  It  has  a  beautiful  pink  bloom,  a  confection 
is  made  from  the  seed  pod  and  the  stem  and  roots  are 
used  as  a  vegetable. 


Japan's  Capital 


Tokyo,  the  capital  of  Japan,  and  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment, as  well  as  the  financial  and  commercial  center 
of  the  empire,  is  only  one  hour  by  railway  from  the  har- 
bor city  of  Yokohama.  Its  population  is  more  than  two 
millions. 

The  emperor's  palace  stands  in  the  center  of  the 
city  within  a  double  line  of  moats,  on  the  site  once  oc- 
cupied by  the  Shogun's  castle.  The  city  is  not  as  pic- 
turesque as  some  others  in  Japan,  for  its  large  European 
population  demands  modern  buildings,  electric  cars,  tele- 
phone and  telegraph,  and  modern  dress  has  been  very 
generally  adopted  by  the  male  element. 

Tokyo  has  its  share  of  shrines  and  temples  and  the 
guides  and  jinrikisha  boys  seem  in  league  to  convey  the 
tourist  to  each  and  every  individual  place  of  worship. 
A  noted  place  is  Hibiya  Daijiugu,  a  Shinto  shrine  built 
in  imitation  of  the  famous  temple  of  Ise,  dedicated  to 
the  sun  goddess.  It  is  coming  to  be  the  custom  for 

16 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

wealthy  citizens  of  Tokyo  to  have  the  marriage  cere- 
mony performed  at  this  shrine,  using  it  as  we  use 
churches  in  America,  except  that  we  need  not 
pay  for  the  use  of  a  church  for  such  purposes,  while 
the  Tokyan  pays  from  five  to  fifty  yen. 

The  world-famed  Yoshiwara  is  the  quarter  of  Tokyo 
which  is  given  over  to  licensed  vice.  It  is  interesting 
to  visit  this  part  of  the  city  and  observe  how  Japan 
controls  one  of  the  most  vexed  of  questions  to  the  west- 
ern world.  One  thing  is  quite  sure.  Tokyo  streets  are 
not  infested  with  those  familiar  characters  that  are 
constantly  encountered  in  almost  every  American  city. 
Many  of  the  houses  within  this  district  are  palatial  in 
appearance  and  in  the  evening  present  a  spectacle  un- 
paralleled in  any  other  country  of  the  globe.  The  in- 
mates, decked  out  in  gorgeous  raiment,  sit  in  rows  in 
outdoor  rooms  or  cages,  with  gold  screens  behind  them 
and  protected  from  the  outside  by  iron  bars. 


Splendid  Schools 


Tokyo  is  a  city  of  schools.  There  are  three  splen- 
did universities,  the  Imperial,  which  is  supported  by 
the  government  and  has  eleven  thousand  students;  the 
Waseda,  with  seven  thousand  students,  and  the  Kaio 
with  four  thousand  students.  About  forty  per  cent  of 
the  Tokyo  boys  attend  the  universities  and  of  the  girls 
only  the  daughters  of  the  wealthy  citizens.  The  girls 
of  the  middle  class  attend  the  primary  and  grammar 
schools  only,  and  many  of  them  are  sent  into  Euro- 
pean homes  as  servants,  that  they  may  master  domes- 
tic science. 

We  visited  a  primary  and  grammar  school.  Our 
jinrikisha  boys,  who  could  speak  a  little  English,  ush- 
ered us  into  the  principal's  room,  where  we  presented 

17 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

our  cards.  We  were  received  with  many  bows  and 
the  gentlest  courtesy,  but  not  one  word  escaped  the 
Japanese  lips.  We  were  escorted  to  a  private  room  and 
tea  was  served,  then  a  teacher  appeared  with  an  armful 
of  books  showing  the  work  from  the  first  to  the  eighth 
grade.  The  hieroglyphics  on  the  huge  pages  looked  like 
hen  tracks,  but  our  school  books  would  appear  just  as 
unintelligible  to  them.  We  visited  the  various  rooms 
of  the  different  grades  and  found  the  same  comfortable 
desks  and  benches  the  American  pupil  is  provided  with. 
The  rooms  were  well  ventilated  and  immaculately  clean. 
During  the  recess  period  the  children  were  put  through 
a  series  of  exercises.  The  boys  are  taught  military  tac- 
tics from  the  primary  through  the  grammar  grades,  but 
are  exempt  from  such  practice  in  the  universities.  The 
playgrounds  are  in  a  quadrangle  formed  by  the  long, 
rambling  buildings. 


Shinto  Funeral 


We  witnessed  a  Shinto  funeral  one  day  in  Tokyo.  It 
\vas  that  of  Dr.  Hatiyama,  a  noted  educator,  dean  ot 
the  Waseda  university.  First  came  several  hundred 
young  men  in  uniform,  students  of  the  university;  then 
more  than  three  hundred  kimono-clad  men  carrying  what 
looked  like  Christmas  trees.  They  were  pine  trees  about 
six  feet  tall,  profusely  decorated  with  white  paper 
prayer  slips.  Each  tree  was  rooted  and  was  intended 
for  planting  about  the  grave  of  the  deceased.  Then 
followed  a  company  of  men  carrying  huge  stiff-looking 
bouquets,  floral  offerings  from  friends.  Then  men  carry- 
ing large  cages  of  pigeons.  In  Japan  pigeons  are 
tokens  of  affection  from  friends  and  the  birds  are  freed 
rfter  the  body  is  interred. 

The  body  came  next,  resting  on  an  elaborately  deco- 

18 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

rated  cart  with  a  sort  of  temple  or  shrine  covering  all. 
The  little  house  was  gaily  painted  and  looked  like  a 
miniature  Swiss  chalet.  The  active  pall  bearers  wore 
white  robes  and  the  honorary  ones  black  robes. 

Just  back  of  the  catafalque  was  an  escort  of  soldiers 
and  then  came  dozens  of  carriages  and  jinrikishas  bear- 
ing the  mourners.  The  widow  sat  alone  in  a  carriage 
end  was  dressed  from  head  to  foot  in  white. 

It  is  said  the  Japanese  have  great  reverence  for  their 
university  instructors,  showing  them  every  deference 
and  courtesy  during  life,  and  when  they  pass  on,  plan 
the  magnificent  spectacle  we  witnessed. 


19 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


JAPAN  CONTINUED 


A  Japanese  Inn 


With  the  splendid  modern  hotels  found  in  every  place 
in  Japan,  the  traveler  need  never  be  uncomfortably 
housed,  but  if  he  deliberately  chooses  to  spend  a  night 
in  a  really  truly  Japanese  inn,  just  to  get  the  atmosphere 
and  local  color,  he  may  find  such  a  place,  with  its  at- 
tendant discomforts,  in  one  of  the  remote  villages.  A 
party  of  four  California  ladies  and  one  lone  man  from 
Philadelphia  sought  out  and  found  such  a  place  and  ar- 
ranged with  the  landlord  for  dinner  and  a  night's  lodg- 
ing. 

Arriving  in  the  late  afternoon,  the  party  was  met 
by  the  entire  household  of  kimonoed,  kowtowing  men 
and  women  and  ushered  to  large,  bare  upper  chambers. 
The  rooms  were  separated  by  sliding  paper  screens  and 
while  there  was  a  semblance  of  privacy,  there  rea'ly 
was  none,  for  the  aforesaid  household  stood  outside 
peering  curiously  through  the  openings. 

"The  honorable  bath  was  ready  if  the  augustly  per- 
sons would  deign  to  follow,"  explained  the  interpreter, 
and  visions  of  public  baths,  of  plural,  triple,  quadruple 
and  sextuple  baths,  flashed  simultaneously  into  four 
California  minds.  One  woman  only  was  game,  and  find- 
ing kimono  and  straw  sandals  in  her  room,  slipped  out 
ot  street  clothes  and  followed  the  attendant.  The  bath 
tub,  a  huge  wooden  vat,  stood  on  an  outside  porch,  with 

20 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

only  a  frail  paper  screen  between  it  and  the  whole 
Japanese  empire. 

A  woman,  a  boy  and  the  interpreter  crowded  inside 
the  screen,  gravely  solicitous.  The  lady  explained  that 
she  wanted  them  to  depart.  The  interpreter  said  they 
waited  to  assist  the  august  one,  that  it  would  be  dis- 
courteous to  leave.  She  finally  made  them  understand 
that  she  preferred  solitude,  and  they  withdrew,  forming 
a  bewildered  group  just  outside  the  screen. 

The  bath  was  scalding,  as  is  every  bath  in  Japan,  and, 
as  there  was  no  cold  water,  the  lady  splashed  towels 
about  as  though  she  were  in  the  tub  and  then  ran  the 
gauntlet  to  her  room.  On  another  occasion  the  party 
visited  the  public  baths,  and  seeing  the  freedom  with 
\\hich  the  sexes  bathe  unclothed,  in  the  same  pool,  real- 
ized as  never  before,  that  Japan,  seen  from  the  bath 
tub,  is  the  real  Japan. 

It  is  the  only  place  where  the  sexes  congregate  for 
gossip  and  general  conversation,  and  if  one  has  an  in- 
terpreter close  by  to  translate,  he  finds  the  talk  is  of 
the  busy  affairs  of  everyday  life.  When  told  the  cus- 
tom was  shocking  to  Americans,  a  Japanese  man  said, 
"We  have  been  bathing  thus  for  two  thousand  years, 
why  should  we  change?  There  is  no  evil  in  a  custom  to 
those  whose  minds  are  free  from  evil." 

When  dinner  was  announced,  the  party,  in  kimonos 
and  sandals  which  every  Japanese  hotel  provides  Its 
guests,  was  conducted  to  a  room  which,  like  the  bed- 
rooms, was  bare  of  furniture  except  the  cushions  placed 
on  the  thick  straw  mats  that  cover  all  Japanese  floors. 
These  mats,  called  tamina,  are  about  three  by  six  feet, 
thickly  padded  and  the  edges  bound  with  silk.  The  pre- 
scribed Japanese  fashion  of  sitting  is  to  kneel  on  the 
cushion  and  then  rest  the  body  on  the  heels.  The  nov- 
ice finds  legs  most  inconvenient  appendages  in  rooms  that 
have  no  chairs. 

21 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

In  front  of  each  person  was  placed  a  beautiful  lacquer 
footed  tray  upon  which  was  an  array  of  strange  looking 
mixtures  in  various  shaped  bowls,  dishes  and  baskets. 
There  were  no  knives,  forks  or  spoons,  only  chop  sticks, 
and  the  little  serving  maid  gravely  instructed  the  diners 
how  to  use  them.  Course  followed  course  in  bewilder- 
ing succession,  each  more  beautiful  and  artistically  ar- 
ranged than  the  one  preceding.  But  alas,  that  anything 
so  pleasing  to  the  eye  could  be  so  displeasing  to  the 
palate. 

Soup  was  served  in  covered  lacquer  bowls  at  the 
end  of  each  course.  There  were  sundry  and  various 
kinds,  among  them,  a  puree  of  seawead  that  was  in- 
describable. The  menu  included  raw  fish,  fried  eels, 
chicken  and  mushrooms,  boiled  lotus  bulbs,  a  salad  of 
finely  chopped  radishes  with  a  dressing  of  raw  fish 
and  thick  soy,  cold  boiled  rice  rolled  in  seaweed  with  a 
dab  of  horseradish  in  the  center,  boiled  crawfish,  pickled 
eggs  of  a  vintage  of  a  long  past  era,  rice  birds  served 
with  heads  and  feet  attached,  strange  pickled  spices 
and  stranger  spiced  pickles.  The  dessert  was  great 
golden  persimmons  and  rosy  apples  with  huge  pieces 
of  rock  candy  served  in  brown  wisteria  baskets, 
wreathed  with  sprays  of  dwarf  pine.  Tea,  of  course, 
was  drunk  without  sugar  or  cream,  and  with  every 
course  hot  sake,  a  fermented  drink  made  of  rice,  was 
served  in  tiny  bowls  of  red  lacquer.  The  guests  were 
told  that  the  bowls  must  be  held  in  both  hands  when 
drinking.  It  is  the  custom  to  exchange  bowls  with 
every  guest  and  a  bowl  of  hot  water  for  rinsing  them 
after  drinking  was  near  the  trays. 

Each  guest  must  first  drink,  rinse  the  bowl,  fill  it 
and  pass  to  his  neighbor,  receiving  one  in  return.  Each 
must  do  this  at  least  once  with  every  guest,  and  as 
sake  is  about  the  strength  of  sherry,  if  the  guest  list  is 
large  the  result  is,  to  say  the  least,  not  desirable. 

22      • 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

When  the  hour  for  retiring  came,  serving  women 
appeared  bearing  huge  rolls  of  bedding,  spreading  them 
on  the  thickly  padded  floor.  The  lower  sheet  was  ad- 
justed and  a  block  of  wood  about  five  inches  high  and 
twelve  inches  long,  hollowed  out  on  one  side  and  softly 
upholstered,  was  placed  for  a  pillow.  The  little  toy 
maids  then  smilingly  waited  for  the  guests  to  disrobe 
and  retire,  for  it  is  the  custom  of  Old  Japan  to  "tuck  in" 
the  retiring  guest.  The  top  covering  of  heavy  wadded 
silk  was  carefully  adjusted  and  patted  into  place,  the 
candles  extinguished  and  a  tiny  flame  of  burning  oil  in 
a  bowl  left  as  a  night  light.  The  maid  pattered  away, 
sliding  the  paper  screens  noiselessly,  leaving  the  wide- 
awake to  distorted  dreams. 


Marriage  Customs 


When  a  Japanese  girl  reaches  a  marriageable  age, 
her  parents  select  her  life  partner,  or  arrange  for 
the  match  through  the  medium  of  friends  or  professional 
matchmakers.  The  girl  can  raise  no  objection  if  the 
parents'  choice  does  not  suit  her.  In  Japan  girls  must 
obey.  After  the  preliminaries  are  completed  and  the 
dowry  settled,  a  meeting  between  the  betrothed  couple 
is  arranged  at  some  public  place — a  tea  house  or  theatre 
— and  friends  of  the  contracting  parties  are  present. 

This  is  in  the  nature  of  a  formal  reception,  and  the 
happy  couple  is  so  carefully  chaperoned  that  they  can 
only  exchange  furtive  side  glances.  At  this  function 
presents  are  exchanged  by  the  engaged  pair.  This  is 
supposed  to  bind  the  contract.  The  presents  may  be 
articles  of  attire  or  food,  or,  if  circumstances  permit, 
money  is  given.  In  the  last  named  case,  it  is  the  cus- 
tom for  the  recipient  to  reciprocate  by  returning  half 
ot'  the  money.  All  of  the  gifts  are  sent  to  the  groom's 
house. 

23 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

With  the  assistance  of  a  fortune-teller,  a  date  for 
the  wedding  is  selected,  and  on  that  day  the  bride-to-be, 
accompanied  by  her  parents,  goes  in  a  jinrikisha  to  the 
house  of  the  groom. 

We  met  and  followed  a  bridal  party  in  Tokyo.  The 
bride  was  beautifully  dressed  in  white  embroidered 
crepe  kimono,  a  white  wedding  hood  concealing  her 
face.  Inquiring  why  the  bridal  procession  raced  up  and 
down  side  streets  as  though  trying  to  elude  us,  our 
guide  said  that  it  was  the  custom  for  bridal  parties  to 
pass  through  streets  which  bear  names  of  happy  mean- 
ing, such  as  Good  Health,  Happy  Days,  etc. 

The  vicinity  of  the  groom's  ho'use  was  gaily  deco- 
rated with  branches  of  trees  thickly  hung  with  red 
paper  lanterns.  The  groom  and  his  attendants,  each 
carrying  a  lighted  lantern,  met  the  bridal  party  outside 
and  conducted  them  within  the  home. 

It  is  said  that  there  is  no  religious  service  connected 
with  a  Japanese  wedding  except  among  the  highest 
class,  who  repair  to  a  Shinto  temple  to  celebrate  the 
event. 

The  ordinary  ceremony  is  for  the  bride  and  groom 
to  drink  sake  from  a  cup  nine  times,  alternately.  After 
this  a  wedding  feast  is  partaken  of  at  which  clams  in 
some  form  are  served.  Since  each  pair  of  clam  shells 
has  hinges  that  never  fit  any  separate  shell,  the  serving 
of  clams  is  considered  a  happy  symbol. 


Geisha  Dance 

No  one  should  visit  Japan  without  witnessing  a 
Geisha  dance.  When  we  reached  Kyoto  we  found  the 
city  placarded  with  screaming  posters  and  flaunting  red 
banners  which  were  unintelligible  to  us.  Our  guide 
explained  that  a  convention  of  Geisha  dancers,  which 

24 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

occurred  only  once  in  ten  years,  was  being  held,  and  it 
would  be  our  privilege,  that  evening,  if  we  chose,  to  wit- 
ness a  dance  of  the  most  famous  dancers  in  Japan.  We 
were  afterward  informed  that  this  same  famous  conven- 
tion is  held  every  time  a  party  of  tourists  arrive. 

Paying  two  yen  fifty  sen,  which  is  one  dollar  and 
twenty-five  cents  of  our  money,  for  our  tickets,  we  en- 
tered the  flimsy  wooden  structure  called  Geisha  Girl 
theatre.  The  auditorium  was  a  large  room  with  sloping 
floor  and  with  elevated  boxes  along  the  sides  and  back. 
The  walls  were  hung  with  bright-hued  cotton  drapery 
and  the  drop  curtain  was  of  gorgeous  red  and  white 
striped  satin  brocade.  The  floor  space  had  no  aisles, 
but  was  divided  off  into  pens  or  boxes  by  a  low  railing 
over  which  the  people  stepped  to  reach  their  places. 

The  dance  began  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and 
lasted  until  ten  o'clock  at  night.  We  went  early  that 
we  might  see  the  people  arrive,  and  sat  in  a  box  in  the 
rear  overlooking  the  floor. 

Each  little  group  that  pattered  in  bore  a  tea  service 
consisting  of  a  brazier  of  burning  charcoal,  a  tea  pot 
and  cups  and  a  basket  of  rice  cake  and  confections. 

Vivid  scarlet  blankets  were  spread  on  the  floor  of 
the  pens,  or  compartments,  and  the  occupants  knelt  on 
knees  and  heels  throughout  the  performance,  except  be- 
tween dances  they  visited  other  boxes  and  exchanged 
cups  of  tea,  bowing  profoundly  and  talking  animatedly. 

The  curtain  arose,  disclosing  three  dainty  maidens 
sitting  to  the  right  of  the  stage  holding  strange  looking 
musical  instruments.  These  instruments  are  called 
samisen,  koto  and  drum.  The  first  two  are  stringed 
instruments.  As  the  preliminary  chords  were  struck  a 
brilliant  vision  drifted,  as  light  as  thistle  down,  from 
the  wings  to  the  center  of  the  stage.  It  was  a  Geisha 
girl  in  all  the  bravery  of  dance  attire.  Her  glistening, 
blue-black  hair  was  thrust  through  with  sparkling  orna- 

25 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

ments,  and  bright  hued  chrysanthemums  beneath  each 
ear  vied  with  the  vivid  scarlet  of  her  tiny  mouth. 

Her  kimono  was  of  violet  silk  crepe,  shading  in  its 
shimmering  folds  from  palest  lavender  to  deepest  purple 
and  heavily  encrusted  with  gold  embroidery.  Her  under 
kimonos  of  filmy  white  showed  coyly  in  the  posturing 
of  the  dance. 

To  the  wailing  accompaniment  of  the  musical  instru- 
ments and  the  singing  of  the  musicians,  she  began  a 
series  of  poses,  gliding  from  each  posture  to  another 
with  fascinating  grace.  Our  interpreter  explained  that 
her  dance  meant  "The  New  Year,"  and  we  concluded 
that  in  Japan,  truly,  every  little  movement  has  a  mean- 
ing of  its  own. 

Other  dances  followed,  some  where  two  participated 
and  at  one  time  five  beautiful  doll-like  figures  appeared 
in  perfect  poses.  We  would  have  been  sitting  there  yet, 
in  perfect  rapture,  but  for  the  music. 

There  is  a  cruel  surprise  in  store  for  the  foreigners 
who  think  they  will  like  Japanese  music.  When  those 
three  fairy-like  creatures  on  the  stage  struck  the  strings 
and  drum,  it  sounded  worse  than  sweet  bells  jangling 
out  of  tune.  And  when  those  ruby,  smiling  lips  opened 
to  chant  the  poem  descriptive  of  the  dance,  we  were 
totally  unprepared  for  the  series  of  weird,  discordant 
notes  which  rent  the  air. 

Japanese  music  is  like  grand  opera  to  some  people. 
It  is  an  acquired  taste. 


Japanese  Manners 

Japanese  politeness  is  one  of  the  most  charming 
characteristics  of  the  country.  You  may  in  time,  sus- 
pect that  the  politeness  does  not  mean  very  much,  per- 
naps,  still  it  is  charming,  this  wondrous  courtesy,  and 

26 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

you  compare  it  very  favorably  with  the  bluffness  of 
western  people.  The  Gentleman  from  Philadelphia 
picked  up  a  Japanese  lady's  handkerchief  in  the  train 
one  day  and  restored  it  to  her  with  a  bow.  She  re- 
sponded with  so  deep  a  salaam  that  he,  perforce,  had 
to  bow  again.  Again  she  bowed,  and  by  this  time  her 
husband  had  joined  her  and  his  bow  had  to  be  returned. 
The  trio  of  international  bows  kept  up  until  the  Ameri- 
can backed  out  of  the  car. 

When  the  traveler  in  Japan  reaches  a  hotel,  he  is 
greeted  at  the  entrance  by  a  horde  of  kowtowing  house 
boys  and  maids.  Inside,  every  nook  and  corner  has 
its  salaaming  artistic  figure.  It  all  seems  like  a  stage 
picture.  At  the  entrance  to  the  dining  room,  instead 
of  a  lordly  head  waiter,  one  is  greeted  by  a  dainty  ki- 
monoed  figure  and  literally  bowed  into  place. 

At  the  fine  silk  and  curio  stores,  milady's  jinnkisha 
deposits  her  at  the  entrance,  where  her  boots  are  re- 
moved by  salaaming  boys,  and  sandals  substituted.  She 
then  is  conducted  past  rows  of  bowing  clerks  to  a  tea 
room  where  tea  is  served  her,  and  then  when  Madam 
is  sufficiently  rested  and  refreshed,  if  she  cares  to  in- 
spect the  wares  of  the  establishment,  they  are  brought 
to  her.  No  need  of  running  from  counter  to  counter  in 
Japan.  Articles  from  the  topmost  floor  will  be  brought 
to  the  customer  if  she  desires. 

A  gentleman  from  Los  Angeles  was  walking  through 
the  crowded  streets  of  Tokyo  one  day,  when  he  acci- 
dentally trod  on  the  foot  of  a  native.  Instead  of  being 
challenged  to  a  duel  as  he  would  have  been  in  some 
countries,  or  glared  at  as  in  America,  the  Japanese, 
bowing  low,  said,  "Honorable  sir,  august  pardon  deign. 
My  unworthy  foot  was  the  way  in." 

A  party  of  Los  Angeles  tourists  were  speeding 
through  the  streets  of  a  Japanese  city  one  evening,  when 
they  ran  down  a  man,  hurting  him  severely.  Just  before 

27 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

he  lapsed  into  unconsciousness,  the  Japanese  apologized 
humbly  for  being  in  the  way. 

Until  the  English-speaking  people  invaded  Japan, 
profanity  was  unknown.  About  the  worst  thing  a  na- 
tive could  call  another  in  those  days  was  a  fool.  That 
was  considered  the  vilest  epithet  known.  But  "civiliza- 
tion" has  taught  him  to  swear  glibly  not  only  in  English 
but  in  Japanese.  And  profanity  is  not  the  only  vice 
civilization  has  brought  to  this  gentle  race.  The  adage 
to  "See,  speak  and  hear  no  evil,"  does  not  prevail  as  it 
once  did. 

There  is  no  word  for  kiss  in  the  Japanese  language. 
It  seems  when  the  missionaries  first  came  to  Japan  and 
translated  our  Bible  into  the  native  language  they  could 
find  no  Japanese  word  to  express  kiss.  In  the  story 
of  the  prodigal  son  where  he  returns  and  the  father 
meets  him  afar  off  and  falls  on  his  neck  and  kisses 
him,  they  substituted  the  word  "lick,"  explaining' that 
since  a  cow  affectionately  licks  her  calf,  that  was  the 
next  best  word  to  use.  So  the  Bible  in  Japanese  reads, 
"And  the  father  fell  on  his  neck  and  licked  him." 


Nikko's  Glory 


There's  a  saying  in  Japan,  "Don't  say  Kekko  till 
you  have  seen  Nikko."  Kekko  means  magnificent  and 
Nikko  is  a  small  mountain  resort  two  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea.  Of  Nikko  more  has  been  written  and 
spoken  by  foreigners  than  any  other  place  in  Japan. 
Murray  says,  "It  has  a  twofold  charm;  the  charm  of 
nature  and  the  charm  of  art.  Its  beautiful  mountains 
abd  cascades,  and  its  noble  trees  are  famous.  Its  temple 
aichitecture  is  the  most  splendid  in  Japan." 

From  the  magnificent  slopes  and  mountain  tops  cov- 
ered with  evergreens  and  maples,  and  adorned  with 

28 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

temples,  one  looks  down  upon  a  landscape  which  no 
artist  can  ever  hope  to  adequately  portray.  It  is  a 
wonderful  combination  of  man's  most  perfect  handiwork 
and  nature's  highest  effort  toward  perfection.  If  one 
sees  it  in  the  autumn  as  we  did,  with  the  hills  a  glory 
ot  gold  and  red  and  brown,  it  is  a  most  gorgeous  scene. 
Maple  leaves  are  counted  among  the  flowers  in 
Japan  and  really,  they  have  a  right  to  the  distinction. 
Color  simply  runs  riot — blood-red,  golden  yellow,  brown 
and  green,  blend  into  a  perfection  which  is  only  under- 
stood by  those  who  have  seen  it.  The  maple  dance 
which  takes  place  in  November  is  danced  by  thirty-two 
Geisha  girls.  It  is  a  typical  Japanese  dance  and  great 
attention  is  given  to  all  the  details  of  costume  and  set- 
ting. Maple  branches  are  used  in  the  stage  scenery 
and  the  autumn  tints  prevail  in  the  costumes  of  the 
Geishas. 

Approaching  Nikko  by  train  the  traveler  rides  for 
many  miles  parallel  with  the  world-famous  avenue  of 
cryptomeria  trees.  This  double  row  of  giant,  red-trunked 
trees  borders  the  road  to  the  temples  at  Nikko  for 
twenty  miles. 

Tradition  says  that  three  hundred  years  ago  when 
a  sacred  temple  was  in  the  process  of  building,  the 
reigning  Shogun  asked  for  contributions  from  all  of 
the  people.  One  old  man  who  was  too  poor  to  give 
anything  conceived  the  idea  of  planting  an  avenue  of 
cryptomeria  trees  leading  to  the  shrine.  With  the  aid 
of  his  three  sons  he  painstakingly  planted  twenty  miles 
of  tender  saplings  which  today  stand  a  living  monument 
to  his  religious  ardor. 

The  simple  religious  faith  of  the  Japanese  is  beau- 
tiiul  because  it  is  so  childlike  and  so  picturesque.  The 
natives  do  not  assemble  for  worship,  neither  do  they 
need  revivals  of  religion  once  or  twice  a  year  to  stimu- 
late their  faith.  But  they  never  neglect  their  devotions. 

29 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

A  mother  with  her  little  babe  strapped  to  her  back 
enters  a  temple  and  striking  the  gong  or  clapping  her 
hands  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  gods,  tosses  her 
few  coppers  in  the  slotted  box  that  marks  every  temple 
entrance,  and  murmuring  a  prayer,  goes  on  her  way 
sure  of  absolution.  In  front  of  one  shrine  we  saw  strands 
of  human  hair  attached  to  prayer  slips  and  were  told 
that  when  a  worshipper  suffers  from  an  illness  of  any 
kind  she  cuts  off  her  hair  and  offers  it  to  appease  the 
gods.  Our  interpreter  gravely  informed  us  that  it  never 
fails  to  affect  a  cure. 


The  Inland  Sea 

It  is  said  that  no  body  of  water  in  all  the  world 
can  compare  with  the  Inland  Sea  in  scenic  beauty.  It 
is  not  unlike  the  Thousand  Islands  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
river,  only,  of  course,  on  a  much  larger  scale.  The 
scenery  is  so  varied  that  the  eye  never  wearies.  A 
soft,  vague  haze  hung  over  the  mountains  the  day  we 
steamed  slowly  through  the  beautiful  body  of  water. 
The  sun  seemed  ever  just  ready  to  peep  through  the 
fleecy  bank  of  cloud,  but  it  remained  hidden  throughout 
the  day,  giving  an  impression  of  early  dawn.  The  placid 
bosom  of  the  sea  is  dotted  with  innumerable  islands, 
every  one  of  them  under  cultivation.  Along  the  ter- 
raced shore  stretch  chains  of  picturesque  villages,  with 
stone  sea  walls,  castles  and  temples  soaring  above  the 
clustered  roofs.  Along  the  wooded  slopes,  half  hidden 
by  heavy  foliage,  forts  may  be  glimpsed,  the  black  out- 
line of  the  menacing  cannon  an  inharmonious  note  in 
a  scene  of  pastoral  simplicity.  Queer  fishing  junks  and 
sampans  lie  anchored  in  fleets  or  skim  lazily  across  the 
water.  While  speed  on  the  Inland  Sea  is  not  desired 
by  the  enamored  traveler,  one  could  not  hurry  if  one 

30 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

wished,  for  the  channel  is  so  narrow  in  places  between 
the  islands  that  the  vessel  must  proceed  with  caution, 
often  passing  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  shore. 

Nagasaki,  the  first  stop-  out  of  the  Inland  Sea,  has 
a  land-locked  harbor  which  is  considered  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  in  the  world.  It  is  deeply  indented  with 
small  bays  and  the  town  nestles  against  the  mountain- 
side with  a  wonderful  panorama  spread  out  before  it. 

Nagasaki  is  the  principal  coaling  place  in  Japan  for 
all  ships,  and  it  is  a  novel  sight  to  watch  the  men, 
women  and  children  passing  the  coal  up  in  small  bas- 
kets from  the  barges.  Wooden  platforms  are  erected 
against  each  side  of  the  ship  about  five  feet  apart  and 
on  these  stand  the  laborers.  The  women  work  right 
along  with  the  men,  while  the  small  children  stand  near 
the  bunkers  and  throw  the  rapidly  emptied  baskets 
back  to  the  barges. 


Theatre  Street 

A  fine  place  to  study  types  in  Japan  is  in  Theatre 
street,  Kyoto.  Theatre  street  is  not  unlike  the  board 
walk  of  our  California  beaches.  There  are  bazaars,  rows 
of  tiny  shops,  small  theatres,  side  shows,  fortune  tellers, 
jugglers,  sweetmeat  venders  and  numerous  other  de- 
vices to  lure  the  nimble  sen  from  the  pocket  of  the 
passerby. 

Each  attraction  has  its  "barker,"  who  proclaims  his 
wares.  The  street  is  covered  by  an  awning  of  matting 
stretched  from  roof  to  roof  of  the  squat  buildings.  No 
jinrikishas  are  allowed  to  traverse  this  section,  only 
pedestrians.  An  American  is  immediately  surrounded 
by  a  curious  throng  who  follow  him  from  booth  to  booth, 
touching  his  clothing,  nudging  each  other  and  chatter- 
ing like  monkeys. 

31 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

We  stopped  at  booths  and  made  small  purchases,  the 
guide  interpreting  for  us.  The  small  shops  are  merely  a 
platform  open  to  the  street  and  on  it  squats  the  mer- 
chant. Japanese  people  never  hurry.  If  you  are  pressed 
for  time  never  attempt  to  make  a  purchase  in  Japan. 
Only  one  article  is  shown  the  prospective  purchaser  at 
a  time.  If  that  does  not  suit  his  fancy,  it  is  taken  away 
and  another  is  shown  until  he  is  pleased.  Then  when 
the  time  for  payment  comes  the  dealer  takes  a  little 
wooden  frame  of  sliding  wooden  beads,  and  slipping 
them  through  his  fingers,  mutters  to  himself  until  the 
total  sum  of,  perhaps,  fifteen  cents'  worth  of  goods, 
is  computed.  Mental  arithmetic  is  Greek  to  him  and 
the  most  trifling  sum  must  be  worked  out  by  the  "sora- 
ban." 

If  you  are  leaving  a  hotel  in  Japan  any  hour  before 
noon,  you  must  ask  for  your  bill  the  day  before  or  else 
serious  complications  will  ensue.  If  you  want  a  rail- 
road ticket  to  any  point,  it  is  well  to  notify  the  railroad 
officials  several  days  in  advance.  It  makes  it  easier 
for  all  parties  concerned. 


By  Rail 


Japanese  railroads  are  narrow  guage  and  the  coaches 
have  rows  of  benches  down  each  side  of  the  small  com- 
partments. The  native  traveler  spreads  a  flaming  red 
blanket  on  the  seat  and  kneels  or  squats  on  knees  and 
heels  in  the  nest  thus  formed. 

Just  across  an  aisle  from  us,  one  day,  knelt  a  fat 
Japanese  gentleman,  in  kimono  and  toe-ed  socks.  His 
sandals  reposed  on  the  floor  near  him.  He  slept  while 
he  kept  his  upright  position  on  the  narrow  bench,  his 
head  nodding  like  a  toy  Chinese  mandarin.  His  wife, 
a  wizened  crone  with  blackened  teeth,  knelt  apart  from 
him,  but  was  ever  watchful  of  the  needs  of  her  lord  and 

32 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

master,  rolling  his  cigarette  or  filling  his  tiny  pipe  or 
serving  him  tea  from  the  tea  service  wnich  is  the  in- 
evitable accompaniment  of  every  Japanese  traveler. 

At  every  station  boys  appear  at  the  windows  with 
steaming  tea  pot  and  cups.  The  tea,  including  pot  and 
cups,  costs  five  sen,  two  and  one-half  cents  of  our  money. 
Baskets  of  lunch  attractively  decorated  with  ferns  and 
flowers,  disclosed  when  opened  queer  little  boxes  of  food. 
There  were  tiny  wooden  pill  boxes  for  the  salt,  pepper 
and  mustard.  A  miniature  firkin  held  the  butter.  Lit- 
tle wooden  trays  had  layers  of  raw  fish  and  cold  boiled 
rice  dressed  in  many  ways. 

It's  fascinating  to  watch  the  natives  eat  rice  with 
chop  sticks.  They  carry  the  food  swiftly  and  surely 
from  plate  to  mouth  with  unconscious  grace,  never  spill- 
ing a  morsel.  All  our  efforts  at  mastering  the  elusive, 
maddening  sticks  were  unavailing. 

The  outlying  districts  of  Japan  are  even  more  pic- 
turesque than  the  cities.  There  are  few  farm  houses, 
the  natives  preferring  to  live  in  the  small  villages,  where 
they  repair  at  night  when  the  day's  labor  is  ended.  It 
is  said  that  this  "collective"  habit  was  formed  in  early 
days  in  Japan,  when  bandits  and  marauders  terrorized 
the  inhabitants,  and  the  people  had  to  live  near  each 
other  for  protection. 

In  these  villages  the  odd  little  shops  and  peasants' 
huts  are  strung  along  the  road.  In  the  shops  the  kimono- 
clad  tradesmen  crouch,  like  huge  spiders,  in  a  web  of 
many  hues.  In  many  houses,  as  our  train  sped  by, 
the  morning  "meal  was  being  eaten  and  as  the  huts  are 
open  to  the  street,  he  who  passes  by  train  or  other- 
wise may  see  all  the  domestic  economy  and  intimate 
home  life  of  the  native.  At  breakfast  papa,  mamma 
and  the  numerous  smaller  folk  knelt  on  straw  mats 
around  the  brazier  which  cooked  their  rice  and  brewed 
their  tea.  The  brazier,  in  which  a  few  handfuls  of  char- 

33 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

coal  is  burned,  serves  in  the  poorer  houses  of  Japan 
the  double  purpose  of  cooking  and  heating. 

Our  train  skirted  the  borders  of  a  bay  upon  whose 
sparkling  blue  waters  sailed  a  flotilla  of  quaint  fishing 
craft,  the  bronzed  bodies  of  the  fisherfolk  innocent  of 
clothing  save  a  loincloth  and  mushroom  hat.  Other  craft 
were  queer  square-sailed  boats  and  high-sterned  junks 
such  as  one  sees  in  old  Japanese  prints.  Here  and 
there  rose  knolls  terraced  to  the  top  for  rice,  the  tender 
grain  palely  green  in  the  morning  light.  Many  of  the 
rice  fields  were  girdled  with  straw  rope  on  which  flut- 
tered white  prayer  slips  as  a  protection  against  evil 
spirits.  We  passed  fields  of  buckwheat  and  sugar  cane 
growing  side  by  side,  embryonic  hot  cakes  and  corn 
syrup. 

Plodding  alongside  the  roadbed  were  natives  on  their 
way  to  market.  Men  and  women  with  huge  baskets  of 
vegetables  strung  on  long  poles  resting  on  their  shoulders. 
Oxen,  with  straw-sandaled  hoofs,  moved  slowly  by, 
laden  with  great  water  casks.  In  the  hilly  region  we 
skirted  overhanging  rocks,  sheer  cliffs,  their  white  walls 
gleaming  under  a  veil  of  green  vines  and  ferns.  Litt'e 
singing  streams  trickled  down  tiny  ravines  to  meet  a 
foaming  torrent  below.  Many  hillsides  were  covered 
with  bamboo,  which  is  one  of  Japan's  valuable  assets. 
The  trees  grow  to  enormous  height  and  their  slender 
trunks  crowned  by  feathery  foliage  are  beautiful. 

Many  huts  we  passed  had  great  cracks  in  the  plaster 
walls,  caused  by  earthquakes.  Japan  has  the  earthquake 
habit,  three  hundred  tremors  a  year  being  the  average. 
All  the  houses  are  built  on  the  earthquake  plan.  To 
quote  from  "The  Heart  of  Japan":  "If  any  of  you  build 
here,  see  to  the  door  posts,  and  especially  to  the  lin- 
tels across  the  top  of  the  posts.  Have  the  lintels  over 
the  windows  strong,  too,  or  else  do  not  have  the  win- 
dows directly  one  above  the  other.  A  row  of  windows 

34 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

running  up  a  wall  in  a  straight  line  is  like  the  perfor- 
ation in  a  sheet  of  postage  stamps.  When  the  quake 
comes,  there's  where  the  wall  will  tear,  right  up  and  down 
along  that  row  of  windows." 


English  as  She  is  Jap-ed 

One  of  the  amusing  things  in  Japan  is  studying  the 
signs  in  the  streets.  There  is  much  of  human  interest 
in  them.  The  average  Japanese,  when  wishing  to  use 
the  plural  of  any  noun,  adds  an  s.  For  instance,  a  sign 
in  a  Kobe  window,  "Trouser  fixer  for  Mans.  Wrinkles 
take."  A  sign  in  front  of  a  tea  house  read,  "The  teas 
are  restful  and  for  sharpen  the  mind."  The  man  who 
safeguards  against  sun  and  rain  declared,  "Of  shop  our 
parasols  the  pleasure  is."  Over  a  laundry  this  inscrip- 
tion, "First  nice  washer  mans."  Over  a  transfer  office, 
"Endure  any  responsible  and  awaiting  all  the  time  for 
honorable  orders." 

A  signpost  to  a  cascade:  "High  above  me  up  water 
fall.  This  way  from  ten  minutes  walked."  A  bridge 
v*as  marked  as  follows::  "Wagons  and  other  vehicles 
except  those  of  the  unloaded  are  to  pass  not."  One 
might  fancy  that  inscription  was  addressed  to  those  who 
look  upon  the  wine  when  it  is  red. 

In  passing  a  large  hospital  one  day,  we  inquired  of 
the  jinrikisha  boy  what  it  was.  He  replied,  "Just  now 
sick  mans.  Bymeby  get  well  house." 

The  same  boy  in  explaining  the  significance  of  the 
food,  water  and  incense  before  a  wayside  shrine,  said, 
"Man  makee  fire.  Joss  he  smile.  Morning  time  he  eat 
chow  and  drink  like  mans." 

Inquiring  about  an  imposing  stone  by  the  roadside, 
the  boy  explained,  "Jap  mans  makee  die,  put  up  a  stone; 
small  mans,  small  stone,  large  mans,  large  stone." 

35 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


MANILA 


Stars  and  Stripes 


The  American  traveler  who  has  been  forty  days  and 
nights  on  ship  board,  stopping  here  and  there  at  various 
foreign  ports,  feels  an  indescribable  thrill  of  delight 
when  he  enters  a  harbor  floating  the  glorious  Stars  and 
Stripes  and  hears  an  American  band  playing  American 
tunes. 

Manila,  Beautiful  Manila!  in  a  wonderful  setting 
of  opalescent  bay,  azure  sky  and  emerald  verdure,  was 
home  to  us  from  the  moment  we  reached  there  until  we 
regretfully  left. 

Instead  of  chattering  tongues  that  we  could  not  un- 
derstand, instead  of  dirty  palms  outstretched  for  coins, 
we  met  genuine  American  Handclasps  and  a  cordial  wel- 
come in  a  language  our  very  own. 

Long  before  our  steamer  anchored  in  the  bay  of 
Manila  a  committee  of  citizens  came  out  in  launches  to 
meet  us,  bringing  the  information  that  the  "Pearl  of  the 
Orient"  was  ours  for  the  asking  and  their  attitude  toward 
us  throughout  our  stay  confirmed  the  suspicion  that  the 
information  was  authentic.  The  constabulary  band,  the 
best  in  the  Far  East,  greeted  us  very  appropriately  with 
"America."  Joy  filled  hearts  that  were  torn  with  the  in- 
sistent longing  for  home  and  loved  ones,  eyes  brightened 
and  pulses  quickened,  at  the  sight  and  sound  of  faces 
and  voices  of  our  own  kind. 

Manila  Is  a  fascinating  co-mingling  of  Spanish  civili- 

36 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

zation  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Oriental  life  and  Ameri- 
can occupation.  It  would  not  be  nearly  so  attractive 
were  any  one  of  the  three  lost. 

The  old  walled  city  with  its  quaint  Spanish  archi- 
tecture, its  quiet  and  dreaminess,  is  in  strange  contrast 
to  the  bustle  and  business  activity  of  the  American  dis- 
trict, while  Rosario  street,  on  which  are  the  Chinese  shops 
and  residences,  Is  like  another  world. 

Crossing  the  Bridge  of  Spain,  one  looks  down  the 
•winding  Pasig  river,  upon  a  motley  fleet  of  queer  river 
craft.  The  shore  is  lined  with  a  sort  of  house  boat, 
called  Casco,  in  which  live  the  "floating  population." 

These  boats  are  awkward,  flat  structures  with  a 
rounded  roof  covered  with  straw  matting.  The  natives, 
many  of  them,  live  in  the  boats,  rearing  their  families 
and  wrenching  a  miserable  living  from  fishing  in  the 
river,  or  earnng  a  few  pesos  doing  odd  jobs  of  work  on 
the  docks. 

If  the  average  Filipino  of  the  lower  class  has  a  little 
portion  of  fish,  a  bit  of  rice,  a  package  of  cigarettes  and 
a  box  of  matches  he  will  not  work  so  long  as  they  last. 
Like  Mexico,  Old  Manila  is  a  land  of  Manana — tomor- 
row— the  native  does  not  trouble  trouble  until  trouble 
troubles  him,  and  is  not  work  trouble?  He  thinks  so, 
at  least,  so  he  dreams  drowsy  day  dreams  and  is  lazily 
content. 

True,  if  his  Querida  (sweetheart)  expresses  a  desire 
for  perfume  or  cheap  jewelry  or  a  new  ribbon,  the 
lu.mbre  will  work  until  that  need  is  supplied,  then  he 
rests  from  his  labors. 

The  native  Filipino  woman  wears  very  gaudy  raiment. 
Her  skirts  are  of  bright  hued  material  fitting  the  figure 
ciosely  about  the  hips,  but  spreading  out  at  the  back 
in  a  flaring  train.  Over  a  chemise  she  wears  a  trans- 
parent waist  called  Camiso,  made  of  gaudily  striped 
native  cloth  called  Jusi  cloth.  This  waist  has  huge,  stiff 

37 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

outstanding  sleeves  and  a  sort  of  fichu  collar  of  the 
same  material.  The  women  all  smoke  cigarettes,  both 
in  their  homes  and  on  the  street.  Some  of  the  types 
are  very  beautiful.  A  Mestizo  is  a  half-breed,  Filipino 
and  Chinese.  I  asked  an  American  gentleman  residing 
in  Manila  what  a  Mestizo  was.  He  replied,  "A  Mestizo 
is  a  woman  one-fourth  Filipino,  one-fourth  Chinese  and 
one-half  rice  powder."  She  surely  shows  all  the  facial 
indicia  of  the  last,  for  the  native  is  anxious  to  appear  as 
fair  as  her  American  sisters  and  plasters  cosmetics  on 
her  face  thickly. 

The  male  native  of  the  Philippines  is  of  small  stature 
and  as  slender  as  a  sapling.  His  hair  is  straight  and 
g!ossily  black,  and  his  skin  a  yellowish  brown.  His  eyes 
are  brown  with  an  expression  of  languor  in  them.  The 
men  of  the  better  class  wear  American  clothes. 

Native  houses  are  built  on  stilts  with  the  living  apart- 
ments above  and  the  stable  underneath.  The  frame- 
work of  the  huts  is  bamboo,  and  it  is  covered  with  a 
sort  of  coarse  straw  matting  called  Nipa.  The  roofs  are 
thatched  and  wire  covered  and  the  windows  are  tiny 
squares  of  the  transparent  inner  lining  of  oyster  shells. 
On  many  roofs  we  saw  sharp  iron  rods  protruding  and 
were  told  that  they  were  placed  there  to  prevent  evil 
spirits  from  alighting  on  the  house. 

In  the  evening  from  six  to  seven  o'clock,  the  con- 
stabulary band  plays  in  the  Luneta,  a  public  plaza  or 
park  which  was  once  the  esplanade  of  the  Spanish  aris- 
tocracy. 

Everybody  whose  name  appears  in  the  Manila  blue 
book  and  many  whose  names  do  not  appear;  in  fact, 
people  of  every  station  of  life,  ride,  drive  or  walk 
about  the  Luneta  during  the  band  concert.  My  lady, 
in  full  evening  dress  and  elaborately  coiffed  bared  head, 
lolls  luxuriously  back  in  her  Victoria  or  Limousine. 
She  is  ready  for  the  eight  o'clock  dinner  which  usually 

38 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

takes  on  the  dignity  of  a  formal  party  at  one  of  the 
fashionable  clubs. 

Manila's  social  life  is  attractive,  the  army  and  navy 
circles  making  it  exceedingly  gay  and  desirable.  The 
Elks  club  and  the  Army  and  Navy  club  are  each  housed 
in  beautiful  buildings  and  in  these  places  the  smartest 
social  functions  are  given. 

We  were  privileged  to  attend  a  tea  given  by  an  Amer- 
ican lady  who  lives  in  one  of  the  old  Spanish  homes.  As 
we  entered  the  wide,  imposing  entrance  on  the  ground 
floor,  we  found  we  were  on  the  threshold  of  the  stable, 
which,  in  this  instance,  happily,  sheltered  the  family  tour- 
ing car,  instead  of  the  usual  live  stock.  Through  open- 
ings in  the  rear  of  the  stable  we  looked  out  upon  a  paved 
court  yard  where  chickens  clucked,  goats  browsed  and 
native  dogs  lay  idly  in  the  sun. 

Mounting  a  winding  stair  we  entered  an  imposing 
living  room,  more  than  fifty  feet  square.  The  brilliant 
afternoon  sun  shone  but  dimly  through  the  creamy 
opaque  shell  windows  and  brilliant  hued  blossoms 
nodded  from  every  window  sill.  On  one  side  a  conserva- 
tory balcony  overhung  the  court  below.  Tropical  ferns 
and  flowers  glowed  through  the  open  casements  and  the 
silver  tinkle  of  falling  water  from  a  fountain,  mingled 
with  the  cooing  of  caged  love  birds. 

The  gracious  hostess  showed  us  all  over  the  splendid 
home;  the  cool,  darkened  bed  chambers  with  screens 
swinging  outward  to  exclude  the  sun  and  with  ceiling 
fans  waving  noiselessly;  the  state  dining  room,  large 
enough  for  an  hotel  and  furnished  with  the  splendid 
Narra  wood,  one  of  the  hard  woods  of  the  islands;  the 
old  Spanish  kitchen  with  its  stone  floor,  its  polished 
copper  utensils  and  its  primitive  brazier  for  cooking. 
However,  American  needs  had  added  a  modern  note  in 

39 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

the  large  steel  range.     It  looked  decidedly  out  of  place 
IB  Its  primitive  surroundings. 

The  American  housekeeper  in  Manila  need  not 
bother  her  head  about  the  details  of  housework.  Native 
help  is  so  cheap,  a  dozen  servants  may  be  had  for  the 
wages  of  one  in  America.  In  fact,  the  householder 
must  have  many,  for  a  cook  will  do  nothing  but  cook, 
the  bedroom  boy  keeps  only  the  bedrooms  in  order,  the 
dining  room  boy  serves  the  meals  and  the  stable  boy  does 
only  stable  work.  Then  one  must  have  a  laundress  and 
a  children's  nurse  and  a  lady's  maid  and  a  seamstress 
and  so  on. 


Shopping 


Shopping  in  Manila  is  a  fascinating  pastime  if  one 
frequents  the  small  Tiendas  (shops)  in  the  native  quar- 
ter. These  shops  are  merely  booths  fronting  on  the 
pavement.  The  customer  sits  sidewise  on  the  counter 
01  on  a  small  stool  in  front,  while  the  tradeswoman 
lolls  in  the  midst  of  her  finery.  There  are  lengths 
of  wonderful  shimmery,  gauzy  Pina  cloth  made  of  pine- 
apple fibre  and  the  gaudy  striped  Jusi  cloth  made  of 
hemp.  The  native  hats,  woven  by  hand,  of  a  fine  straw, 
are  so  soft  and  pliable  they  may  be  drawn  through  a 
ring.  These  hats  may  be  bought  for  from  two  pesos  to 
thirty-five  or  forty  pesos,  according  to  the  fineness  of  the 
work.  A  peso  equals  our  fifty-cent  piece. 

An  industry  In  which  the  Filipino  women  excel  is 
embroidery  on  fine  material.  The  work  is  exquisitely 
done  and  is  more  delicate  than  the  work  of  either  the 
Japanese  or  Chinese  women.  The  gossamer  lawns  with 
their  fairylike  tracery  of  needlework  are  dainty  enough 
for  a  frock  for  Queen  Titania,  and  the  intricate  drawn 
v^ork  on  the  cobweb  table  linen  fit  for  a  fairy  feast. 

40 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 
Schools 

The  Manila  schools  are  perfectly  organized  and  thor- 
oughly graded.  There  are  about  thirty  thousand  pupils 
enrolled  in  the  city.  Every  pupil  receives  industrial  in- 
struction for  an  average  of  three  hours  each  day.  Es- 
pecially is  the  making  of  native  hats  and  embroidery 
emphasized.  In  many  districts  the  sale  of  articles  made 
by  the  children  has  put  this  kind  of  instruction  on  a  self- 
supporting  basis. 

Besides  the  public  schools  there  are  a  number  of 
private  institutions.  There  is  a  normal  university,  a 
school  of  arts  and  crafts  and  a  medical  institution. 


Climate 

The  climate  of  Manila  is  greatly  misunderstood  in 
America  and  other  countries.  We  were  told  that  one 
would  suffer  from  heat,  but  aside  from  two  hours  in  the 
middle  of  the  day,  when  we  felt  decidedly  more  com- 
fortable in  the  shade  than  in  the  sun,  we  found  the 
climate  not  unlike  Southern  California  summers,  inland. 
The  climate  is  tropical  but  the  heat  is  tempered  by  the 
proximity  of  the  sea  and  the  presence  of  large  mountains 
which  practically  surround  the  city.  The  atmosphere  is 
surcharged  with  humidity,  which  makes  it  seem  hotter 
than  it  really  is.  The  nights  are  always  cool. 


Churches 

Being  a  Catholic  community,  there  are  numbers  of 
very  large  and  beautifully  decorated  churches  of  that 
faith.  They  are  all  of  ancient  design  and  workmanship, 
showing  the  effect  caused  by  the  ravages  of  time  and 

4t 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

storms,  except  the  new  steel  church,  San  Sebastien. 
This  splendid  church  is  probably  the  most  conspicuous 
building  in  Manila,  for  its  two  towers  are  the  highest  in 
the  city.  It  is  built  of  steel  plates  made  and  fitted  in 
Europe,  and  was  especially  designed  to  resist  earth- 
quake and  fire. 

Most  of  the  protestant  churches  are  located  outside 
the  walled  city.  The  Episcopalians  have  a  beautiful 
building  of  stone  and  concrete  called  the  Cathedral.  It 
was  completed  about  two  years  ago  at  a  cost  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

The  Methodist  Episcopals  have  a  large  following  in 
Manila,  and  the  Presbyterians  have  recently  erected  a 
building  of  concrete  and  stone.  This  church  is  thorough- 
ly up  to  date  and  has  a  roof  garden  auditorium  for  its 
social  assemblies. 

The  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  which  has  obtained  a  position  of 
strength  and  importance  in  the  islands,  will  soon  erect 
a  building  which  will  cost,  when  completed,  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 


Cemeteries 

In  Manila  the  native  dead  are  buried  in  niches  in 
a  stone  wall,  owing  to  the  flat  marshy  character  of  the 
soil,  which  prevents  the  digging  of  graves.  It  was  this 
strange  method  of  burial  that  occasioned  a  former  gov- 
ernor general  to  remark,  "We  pigeon-hole  our  dead  for 
future  reference." 

The  walls  are  from  seven  to  eight  feet  in  thickness 
and  the  niches  in  which  the  bodies  are  placed  are  as 
ciose  together  as  possible.  The  cemetery  is  supported 
by  a  system  of  rentals.  One's  relatives  or  friends  must 
pay  rent  for  the  niche  in  which  the  body  is  placed. 
When  the  rent  fails  to  come,  eviction  follows  and  the 

42 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

great  pile  of  bones  in  an  enclosure  near  the  wall  shows 
that  many   people   are   in   arrears. 

This  method  has  been  changed  by  the  authorities  in 
late  years  and  now  the  bones  are  disposed  of  in  a  way 
less  revolting  to  the  visitor. 


Filipino  English 


The  native  of  Manila  is  exceedingly  desirous  of  quali- 
fying as  an  American  citizen  if  it  is  not  at  the  expense 
of  too  great  an  effort.  Especially  is  he — if  he  seeks 
work  at  all,  seeking  a  clerical  position.  Manual  labor 
does  not  appeal  to  him.  The  following  letters  are,  re- 
spectively, an  application  for  work  and  a  protest  against 
dismissal.  They  are  typically  Manilan: 

"Dear  Sir:  I,  the  undersigned  applicant  obtained 
reputable  conditions  when  ceased  the  schools  and  am 
studying  and  writing  a  pretty  good  speed  of  words.  I 
am  a  married  man,  19  years  old,  for  these  reason  I  re- 
spectfully request  you  a  clerical  position  at  a  salary 
of  not  to  exceedingly  forty  pesos.  If  dissatisfaction  are 
doubted,  further  talk  will  be  told." 


"Sir:  I,  boss  on  steamer  loading  in  bay  respectfully 
present  and  expose.  That  reference  of  those  day  when 
the  laborers  are  in  strike,  nobody  has  been  concurred  in 
this  office  neither  bosses  had  been  appeared  here  only 
the  expositor  as  you  know  my  person  is  able  to  com- 
promise in  such  manner  of  dis-gust  with  the  laborers. 
Mr.  Lasada  gave  me  order  to  come  early  to  dedicate  the 
work  result  of  our  weariness  to  come  about  five  o'clock 
sharp  in  the  morning  has  already  been  given  to  another 
Bosses.  I  think  Mr.  Lasada,  he  puts  in  Jokes  his  orders 
that  I  know  now  has  no  honor  his  words.  I  earnestly 

43 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

request  to  proceed  this  matter  according  to  reason  above 
stated." 

Query:    What  is  the  reason? 


An  Industry 

One  of  the  principal  industries  of  the  Philippines  is 
the  preparing  of  tobacco  in  its  various  forms  for  the 
market.  Vast  quantities  of  tobacco  are  grown  in  the 
islands  and  there  are  many  factories  for  the  making  of 
cigars  and  cigarettes  in  Manila.  These  factories  em- 
ploy thousands  of  men,  women  and  even  little  children. 
These  people  become  so  deft  from  long  practice  at  this 
\vork  that  they  appear  like  human  machines.  The  long, 
slender,  tapering  fingers  of  the  natives  seem  especially 
adapted  to  rolling  the  tobacco  into  the  smooth  symetri- 
cal  cigars  and  they  have  cultivated  the  sense  of  touch 
until  they  can  without  once  looking  at  their  work  com- 
plete a  cigar  or  take  up  a  bunch  of  twenty-five  or  fifty 
at  a  time  without  counting  them. 

*     *     * 

Cavite 

A  trip  to  the  old  naval  town  of  Cavite  was  replete 
v/ith  interest.  Cavite,  the  scene  of  Admiral  Dewey's 
scrap  with  the  Spanish,  lies  across  the  bay,  ten  miles 
distant  from  Manila. 

The  little  group  of  red-roofed  white  buildings  nest- 
ling among  the  trees,  the  quiet  stretch  of  sandy  beach 
upon  which  the  sparkling  blue  waters  of  the  bay  lisp 
crooning  measure,  looked  peaceful  enough  as  we  sailed 
into  the  harbor  searching  vainly  for  some  indication  of 
Uncle  Sam's  belligerency  in  1908. 

It's  true  the  moss  grown  walls  of  Fort  Gaudalupe, 
with  its  Spanish  sentry  box  standing  perkily  aloof  like  a 

44 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

saucy  child,  still  remain  and  there  are  a  few  guns  in 
evidence,  but  mating  birds  chirp  love  songs  as  they  build 
tbeir  nests  in  the  very  mouth  of  the  cannon  and  grace- 
ful trailing  vines  have  mercifully  veiled  the  wall  against 
\vhich  the  thirteen  martyrs  stood  to  receive  their  death 
wound. 

It's  true,  a  lone  sentry,  gun  on  shoulder,  faced  the  dock 
and  we  tried  to  conjure  up  visions  of  reeking  battles,  but 
instead  of  the  clash  of  arms  we  heard  the  droning, 
drowsy  hum  of  bees. 

Except  for  the  clang  of  machinery  in  the  naval  yards 
Cavite  seems  to  have  been  dropped  back  into  the  fif- 
teenth century.  In  the  old  churchyard  we  saw  only  ruin 
acd  desolation,  and  the  crumbling  walls  of  the  old 
Spanish  buildings  are  pitiful  reminders  of  a  lost  power. 

We  had  lunch  in  the  dim,  cool  cloister  of  an  old 
cathedral.  Soft-eyed  deer  thrust  their  noses  through 
the  bars  of  the  grated  windows  and  ate  from  our  hands. 
Truly,  the  world's  peace  congress  could  find  no  fitter 
n  eeting  place  than  Cavite,  that  only  thirteen  years  ago 
witnessed  such  frightful  bloodshed. 

Back  to  Manila  we  hired  a  victoria,  and  taking  a 
small  Filipino  lad  as  guide  and  interpreter,  started  out 
for  a  drive  to  the  shops.  The  boy  explained  proudly  that 
his  name  was  Sixto  de  Dios,  that  is,  sixth  son  of  God, 
and  that  the  Americanos  ladies  would  be  protected  with 
his  life,  if  necessary.  After  shopping,  in  which  the  boy 
was  useful,  we  directed  our  driver  to  take  us  to  the  dock 
where  our  steamer  lay.  On  the  way  the  horses  became 
frightened  and  the  driver  sprang  from  the  box  to  their 
heads.  Three  frightened  California  women  hastily 
scrambled  out  of  the  low  carriage  and  ran  to  the  rear. 
Quieting  his  horses,  the  driver,  without  observing  the 
absence  of  his  fares,  mounted  to  his  seat  and  drove 
rapidly  away,  leaving  three  surprised  women  and  the 
sixth  son  standing  in  a  pouring  rain.  Sixto  de  Dios 

45 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

wrung  his  hands  and  implored  the  Americanos  ladies  to 
be  calm.  The  Americanos  were  shrieking  with  laughter 
despite  their  unenviable  plight.  The  carriage  disap- 
peared down  the  avenue  and  Sixto  de  Dios,  who  was  go- 
ing to  protect  us  with  his  life,  carefully  turned  up  his 
coat  collar  and — lighted  a  cigarette.  Just  then — not  the 
sixth  son  but  one  of  God's  good  men,  an  American, 
came  along  and,  inquiring  our  difficulty,  had  another  car- 
riage for  us  in  a  very  short  time.  But  just  fancy  the 
consternation  of  that  driver  when  he  reached  the  dock 
and  found  his  fares  had  vanished  as  if  by  magic! 


Bilibid  Prison 

The  most  unique  institution  of  its  kind  in  the  world 
is  Bilibid  prison.  It  covers  an  area  of  nearly  seventeen 
acres  on  which  there  are  fifty  odd  buildings.  It  is  the 
largest  penal  institution  under  the  control  of  the  Ameri- 
can government  and,  some  say,  is  the  largest  in  the 
world. 

We  visited  the  prison  at  the  evening  parade  hour, 
four  forty-five  o'clock,  and  witnessed  from  the  tower  in 
the  center  of  the  grounds,  the  semi-military  maneuvers 
of  the  prisoners.  The  four  thousand  prisoners  are  di- 
vided into  squads  of  twenty-four,  each  squad  being  in 
charge  of  a  hundred  per  cent  good  conduct  prisoner, 
who  is  charged  with  the  supervisory  responsibility  of  his 
squad.  A  section,  which  is  composed  of  a  number  of 
squads,  is  in  charge  of  a  keeper.  Overseers  are  in  charge 
of  groups  of  sections.  From  our  high  observation  post 
the  long  lines  of  men  in  striped  clothes,  all  diverging 
from  a  central  point,  looked,  in  their  systematic  drill, 
like  the  writhing  and  twisting  of  a  monster  serpent. 

After  drill  the  marching  ranks  filed  past  the  tables 
where  the  evening  meal  was  being  ladled  out  from  mam- 

46 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

moth  cooking  vats.  In  exactly  seven  minutes,  four 
thousand  men  had  received  their  portion  and  were  on 
their  way  to  the  cell  houses.  With  regular  hours  for 
\^ork,  recreation  and  rest  and  employment  at  interest- 
ing labor,  the  prisoner  rapidly  acquires  the  work  habit, 
with  the  result,  that  at  the  end  of  his  term  he  has 
changed  his  viewpoint  of  life  and  there  is  little  likeli- 
hood of  his  ever  returning  to  his  former  mode  of  living. 
There  are  many  instances  in  Manila  of  men  who  have 
served  time  in  Bilibid,  who  are  now  useful,  law-abiding 
citizens. 

Various  trades  are  taught  the  prisoners  by  the  most 
competent  trades  instructors  available.  The  trades 
taught  are  blacksmithing,  machine  iron  work,  wagon 
making,  silversmithing,  wicker  furniture,  tailoring,  car- 
I  entering,  painting,  baking  and  many  other  trades.  The 
management  of  the  prison  endeavors  to  procure  employ- 
ment for  the  prisoners  upon  their  discharge  and  tries  to 
make  them  feel  that  they  can  ask  for  advice  and  guid- 
&uce  at  any  time.  Altogether  the  percentage  of  crime 
is  very  small  in  Manila  as  compared  with  other  cities 
of  its  size  in  the  United  States  and  foreign  countries. 


Amusements 

Driving  through  the  miserable  drunkenly  winding 
streets  of  the  Old  Town,  we  observed  in  almost  every 
dooryard,  native  men  lolling  at  ease,  caressing  brilliant- 
hued  game  cocks.  The  fighting  cocks  form  no  small 
part  in  the  joys  and  tribulations  of  the  ordinary  Filipino. 
The  cock  fight  is  the  one  way  of  adding  to  or  losing  all 
of  his  meagre  capital.  The  cock  pits  are  the  most  popular 
resorts,  especially  on  Sunday,  when  the  most  important 
combats  take  place.  Aside  from  the  cruelty  of  the 
sport  the  vice  of  betting  on  the  outcome  of  the  fight 

47 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

is  a  most  pitiable  feature.    Many  natives  in  a  short  time 
lose  all  they  have  earned  in  a  month. 

Feast  days  probably  come  under  the  head  of  amuse- 
ments, and  they  occur  almost  daily.  To  see  these  leisure- 
loving  people  in  holiday  dress,  with  lighted  candles  and 
•with  gay  music  honoring  some  patron  saint,  is  a  sight 
both  impressive  and  lasting. 

Rev.  George  Miller,  in  writing  of  the  peaceful  at- 
mosphere of  Old  Manila  says: 

"Earth  has  no  cure  for  the  nervous  quest, 
The  tense  unrest,  the  hungering  haste  of  fate, 
Like  the  soothing  balm  of  the  tropic  palm, 
In  the  land  where  things  can  wait." 


48 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


CHINA 


Eve  of  War 


Long  before  this  letter  reaches  America  matters  will 
have  reached  a  crisis  in  China.  On  this,  the  first  day  of 
November,  the  Chinese  believe  that  a  few  days  more 
will  see  the  commencement  of  one  of  the  bloodiest  times 
since  the  Taiping  rebellion.  All  trains  are  stopped  in 
Northern  China  and  telegraphic  communication  cut  off 
in  many  places.  Chinese  merchants  are  complaining  of 
the  disturbance  to  business  which  the  trouble  in  the 
provinces  is  causing.  Of  course,  such  a  state  of  things 
is  inevitable  in  such  a  tumult,  and  many  a  trader  and 
corporation  will  go  to  the  wall  ere  the  imperial  forces 
and  the  revolutionists  settle  their  differences.  The 
queue  cutting  movement  is  gaining  fresh  impetus  since 
the  rebellion  began.  A  barber  in  Shanghai  has  issued  a 
police  to  the  effect  that  he  will  remove  the  hated  ap- 
pendage free  of  charge  for  a  certain  length  of  time. 
When  the  Manchurians  conquered  China  more  than  two 
hundred  years  ago,  they  compelled  the  Chinese,  as  a 
badge  of  servitude,  to  grow  queues,  and  so  they  have 
done  until  the  recent  edict,  which  permitted  them  to 
remove  the  pigtail. 

One-third  of  the  human  race  is  believed  to  be  Chi- 
nese and  there  are  enough  Chinamen  living  outside  their 
own  country  to  make  a  small  nation  by  themselves.  As 
a  rule,  the  Chinese  make  very  little  fuss,  and  are  not 
much  heard  of  by  the  outer  world.  Just  now,  however, 

49 


DROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

all  the  world  is  watching  them  with  intense  interest. 
They  are  supposed  to  have  reached  a  parting  of  the 
ways — to  be  undergoing  one  of  those  great  periodical 
changes  which,  for  thousands  of  years,  have  prevented 
their  intense  conservatism  from  seriously  hampering 
their  development  as  a  nation.  Whether  the  rebels  or 
the  imperialists  triumph  in  this  setto,  is  a  matter  of 
secondary  importance,  because,  in  any  case,  the  effect 
of  the  revolution  will  be  to  set  new  and  powerful  forces 
at  work  which  will  have  a  marked  effect  upon  the  char- 
acter of  Chinese  government  and  administration.  Every- 
body with  whom  we  talked  in  Hong  Kong  and  Canton — 
both  Chinese  and  English — seems  to  be  in  sympathy  with 
the  rebels  and  predict  their  ultimate  victory.  Ever  since 
the  Boxer  trouble  in  1900,  the  Chinese  have  been  formu- 
lating plans  for  independence.  The  change  in  govern- 
ment may  be  tentative  for  several  years,  but  it  is  bound 
to  come.  Forecasters  say  that  the  uncounted  millions 
in  China  are  awake  and  active — ready,  as  one  Chinaman 
said  to  me,  "to  fight  to  a  finish"  to  dethrone  the 
Manchus. 


Hong  Kong 


Sailing  through  the  emerald  waters  of  the  China  Sea, 
the  voyager  enters  the  beautiful  harbor  of  Hong  Kong. 
Hong  Kong  is  an  island  lying  off  the  coast  of  China.  It 
was  ceded  to  Great  Britain  in  1841.  The  island  is 
mountainous,  its  verdure-clad  peaks  rising  nearly  two 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  rresent  a  beautiful  land- 
scape when  viewed  from  the  bay. 

Hong  Kong  consists,  practically,  of  two  towns.  In 
one,  the  American  and  European  merchants  and  their 
clerks,  with  the  military  and  naval  forces,  live,  in  the 
other,  the  Chinese. 

50 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

There  are  only  eight  thousand  inhabitants  in  the 
European  quarter,  while  the  native  part  of  the  city 
houses  three  hundred  thousand.  Hong  Kong  is  the  third 
largest  seaport  in  the  world.  The  Bund  is  the  water- 
front, a  wide  street  open  to  the  water,  with  wide  drives 
and  shaded  walks  and  with  imposing  business  blocks. 

On  the  heights,  called  the  Peak,  which  is  reached  by 
inclined  railway,  are  the  homes  of  the  wealthy  English 
and  American  people.  The  houses  are  all  built  with 
massive,  pillared  balconies  across  the  front,  facing  the 
sea.  This  peculiar  architecture  is  said  to  be  necessary  to 
break  the  force  of  the  wind  during  the  typhoons  which 
rage  fiercely  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  If  a  ty- 
I-hoon  should  strike  the  wall  of  a  house  squarely,  the 
windows  and  doors  could  not  withstand  the  shock. 

Hong  Kong  is  policed  by  huge  Sikh  men  from  India. 
They  are  black-bearded  brown  men  of  great  stature. 
They  wear  a  khaki  uniform  and  a  turban  of  gaudy 
oriental  stuff  is  wound  about  the  head.  We  addressed 
several  of  them,  asking  directions,  but  found  none  that 
could  speak  a  word  of  English.  Their  chief  occupation 
seems  to  be  twirling  their  moustaches  and  kicking  coo'ies 
out  of  their  way. 

There  are  many  beggars  in  Hong  Kong.  A  blind 
beggar  will  be  led  about  by  one  who  can  see.  Both 
have  outstretched  palms  and  whiningly  beg  "Howdo, 
good-bye  master,  chow  chow."  Some  waggish  American, 
evidently,  has  taught  them  the  sentence — chow  means 
food. 

The  chief  means  of  transportation  about  the  Chi- 
nese cities  is  the  sedan  chair  and  one  feels  very  stately 
and  important  sitting  in  one  and  being  borne  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  coolies.  The  chairs  are  made  of  bam- 
boo, lightly  suspended  between  two  poles.  In  this  chair 
the  traveler  reclines  at  ease  and  is  carried  by  two 
coolies  who  rest  the  long  poles  of  the  chairs  on  their 

51 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

naked  shoulders.  Unlike  the  jinrikisha  boys,  who  run 
a!l  day  in  a  sort  of  jog  trot,  the  sedan  chair  coolies  walk 
at  a  very  moderate  pace,  so  we  cannot  get  about  in 
China  as  rapidly  as  in  Japan.  The  sedan  chair  tariff 
is  only  about  thirty  cents  gold  an  hour,  so  one  may  travel 
cheaply  as  well  as  comfortably. 


The  Shops 


Every  tourist  spends  much  time  as  well  as  money  in 
the  Hong  Kong  shops  for  they  are  noted  for  the  pro- 
digious variety  of  oriental  goods  displayed.  One  may 
find  the  most  exquisite  embroidery  on  silk  or  linen, 
filagree  and  hand  carved  work,  stuffed  birds  of  wonder- 
ful plumage,  sandalwood  curios,  camphor  wood  chests, 
bamboo  trunks  and  packing  cases  of  feather  weight. 

The  Chinese  are  clever  artisans  and  are  very  original 
in  their  designing.  It  is  said  that  the  Japanese  copy 
most  of  their  beautiful  work  from  the  Chinese,  who 
originate  it. 

Their  delicate  carving  on  ivory  and  wood  and  ebony 
is  world  known;  the  fairy  like  tracery  of  gold  and  sil- 
ver wire  in  their  filagree  is  like  a  kind  of  sorcery;  their 
splendid  woven  fabrics — shimmery  soft  silks  and  glisten- 
ing grass  linen  and  heavy  gold  threaded  brocades  r.ie 
vnexcelled,  while  their  embroideries  are  marvelous  ex- 
amples of  dextrous  needlework. 

The  Los  Angeles  travelers  almost  went  broke  in 
Hong  Kong  purchasing  wearing  apparel.  A  Chinese 
tailor  will  make  garments  for  a  ridiculously  small  sum 
in  comparison  to  what  we  pay  in  the  States.  The  men 
had  white  linen  suits  made  for  six  dollars  Mexican — 
that  is  about  three  dollars  gold.  The  ladies  were  ad- 
mirably fitted  with  pongee  silk  suits  for  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  dollars,  while  cotton  crepe  frocks  cost  only 

52 


BROWSING  'ROUND  TH£  WORLD 

two  fifty  to  three  dollars  and  the  beautiful  embroidered 
grass  linen  dresses  only  about  ten  dollars  of  our  money, 
all  made  to  order. 

Then  there  were  wonderful  filmy  scarfs,  for  a  song, 
and  embroidered  table  linens  so  inexpensive  only  the 
most  hardened  traveler  could  resist  them.  Many  pur- 
chased extra  trunks  in  which  to  stow  away  their  newly 
acquired  belongings.  When  the  day  of  reckoning  comes 
at  the  customs  office  in  New  York,  things  will  not  be 
quite  so  inexpensive. 


Botanical  Gardens 

The  bontanical  gardens  at  Hong  Kong  are  situated 
in  a  spur  of  the  hill  slope  leading  to  the  Peak.  They 
are  sixteen  acres  in  extent  and  the  various  parts  of  the 
garden  are  reached  by  flights  of  stone  steps  crowned 
with  colossal  stone  vases  holding  brilliant  tropical  plants. 
The  variety  of  flora  on  the  terraces  seems  countless. 
Every  country  in  the  Far  East  has  contributed  its  quota 
of  queer,  freakish  plant  life.  There  are  spider  orchids 
that  look  exactly  like  the  huge  hairy  insect  from  which 
they  get  their  name,  creamy  camelias  as  large  as  a  din- 
ner plate,  great  flaming  azaleas,  mammoth  hydrangeas, 
lordly  looking  cockscomb,  and  many  forms  of  tropical 
bloom  unlike  anything  the  westerners  had  ever  seen. 
It  was  truly  wonderful  and  beautiful,  but  we  found  our- 
selves wishing  for  one  "wee,  modest,  purple-tipped  vio- 
let," or  a  pure  white  lily,  or  a  rose  somewhat  smaller 
than  a  cabbage. 


Chinese  Feast 


Four    California    ladies,    the     writer     included,    were 
guests  at  a  Chinese  banquet  in  Hong  Kong,  given  by  Yee 

53 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

Lew  Long  Lam  Ansam,  a  Chinese  banker  of  great 
v/ealth,  a  relative  of  the  former  ambassador  to  the 
United  States,  Wu  Ting  Fang.  The  banquet  was  given 
a.i  a  fashionable  Chinese  cafe  and  we  were  bidden  to  be 
at  the  rendezvous  at  five-thirty  o'clock.  At  exactly  that 
hour,  our  chair  boys  deposited  us  at  the  imposing  en- 
trance of  a  gaily  decorated  five-storied  building.  Prom 
the  balconies  overhanging  the  narrow  street  hung  crim- 
son and  blue  banners,  and  pots  of  flowers,  hanging  bas- 
kfts  and  oddly  shaped  Chinese  lanterns  added  to  the 
riot  of  color. 

Our  gracious  host,  an  elderly,  gray-haired  man  of 
ge-ntle,  courteous  demeanor,  met  us  at  the  threshold 
and  conducted  us  up  many  flights  of  stairs  to  a  hanging 
gallery  just  outside  the  banquet  room,  where  we  met 
the  other  guests.  They  were  Yee  Ben  Tan,  a  university 
professor;  Yee  Chon  Kee,  a  student  just  home  from  a 
course  of  study  at  Washington  state  university,  and 
Yee  Ong  Chun,  a  Chinese  merchant.  All  of  the  gentle- 
men spoke  English  more  or  less  fluently.  Yee  Ong 
Chun's  use  of  American  slang  mystified  us  until  he  an- 
nounced that  he  had  lived  in  Montana  fourteen  years. 
Seated  about  the  balcony,  which  was  converted  into  a 
miniature  garden  by  a  prodigal  use  of  flowering  plants, 
the  initial  ceremony  of  tea  drinking  took  place.  I  use 
the  word  initial  advisedly,  for  the  tea  drinking  was  a 
continuous  performance  throughout  the  evening.  Teak- 
wood  tabourettes  were  placed  one  in  front  of  each 
guest  and  a  covered  cup  and  saucer  placed  thereon.  A 
servant  brought  in  ink  pot  and  a  brush,  the  Chinese 
pen,  and  the  host  requested  each  guest  to  write  his  or 
her  name  on  the  cover  of  the  cup,  so  that  they  should 
not  become  mixed  during  the  frequent  replenishings  and 
that  the  proper  one  might  be  carried  away  finally,  as  a 
souvenir.  Then  a  small  pot  of  tea  was  ceremoniously 
added  to  the  other  paraphernalia  on  the  tabourettes. 

54 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

While  the  tea  was  brewing,  which  process  was  anxious- 
ly watched  by  the  four  Chinese  gentlemen,  who  sniffed 
tit  the  various  pots  from  time  to  time,  a  servant  brought 
steaming  Turkish  towels,  wrung  out  of  hot  water  and 
gravely  handed  one  to  each  of  us.  We  were  at  a  loss 
to  know  what  to  do  until,  watching  our  host,  we  saw 
him  carefully  cleanse  his  face  and  hands  with  the  towel. 
We  did  the  same  and  then  poured  our  tea  and  drank  it 
just  as  he  did  without  a  grimace,  although  it  was  black 
and  strong  and  innocent  of  cream,  sugar  or  lemon.  With 
the  tea  watermelon  seeds  were  served,  the  Chinese 
guests  showing  us  how  to  crack  the  seeds  and  extract 
the  tiny  kernel.  The  host  then  gave  each  guest  two 
tiny,  stiff  bouquets  and  a  place  card.  The  latter  was  a 
strip  of  red  board  about  two  by  six  inches,  with  the 
recipient's  name  in  black  Chinese  lettering  on  it. 

We  were  then  conducted  to  the  banquet  room,  a 
k.rge  apartment  with  festoons  of  flowers  and  gay  hang- 
ing baskets  depending  from  the  ceiling.  Beautifully 
carved  teakwood  chairs  and  tables  were  arranged  stiffly 
against  the  walls  and  in  the  center  was  the  circular 
banquet  table,  fearfully  and  wonderfully  decorated.  The 
centerpiece  was  a  miniature  floral  Chinese  pagoda  tow- 
eiing  toward  the  ceiling,  and  circling  about  it  on  the 
cloth  were  row  upon  row  of  tiny  dishes  holding  condi- 
ments, sweetmeats,  ginger,  preserve,  ground  dried  fish, 
etc.  Between  each  row  of  dishes  were  garlands  of  china 
alters  and  dwarf  magnolias. 

The  banquet  began  with  turtle  soup  and  dragged 
tl.  rough  innumerable  courses,  each  "soupier"  than  the 
one  before,  until  ten-thirty  o'clock.  I  cannot  under- 
stand why  the  Chinese  cook  and  serve  every  article  of 
their  diet  swimming  in  some  sort  of  soup,  and  then  wash 
that  liquid  down  with  constant  libations  of  tea  and 
wine.  We  had  roast  chicken,  nut  and  chicken  suey,  rose 
mushrooms,  broiled  quail  with  ham,  go.d  and  silver 

55 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

pigeon  egg's  served  whole  in  soup,  shrimp,  sweet  almond 
nectar,  birds'  nests,  Chinese  fruits,  nuts,  various  kinds 
of  cakes  and  confections,  and  curious  balls  of  pastry 
fried  in  fat.  Between  each  course  a  fresh  pot  of  tea 
\\as  forthcoming  and  the  hot  wet  towel  used  in  lieu 
of  a  napkin. 

Rice  wine  was  served  in  tiny  glasses  no  larger  than 
a  thimble.  The  wine  was  brought  on  in  quaint  little 
pewter  pots  and  the  glasses  were  refilled  many  times, 
each  swallow  being  accompanied  by  a  toast  to  someone 
present.  It  is  the  custom  at  Chinese  formal  dinners  for 
the  host  to  toast  each  guest  in  turn  and  only  he  and 
the  one  so  honored  drink  at  that  time.  By  the  time 
he  has  drunk  to  the  "Blessings  and  many  children  '  of 
each,  and  each  guest  returns  the  compliment,  the  pewter 
pot  has  been  emptied  many  times. 

During  the  dinner  professional  entertainers  came 
in  and  sang  and  played  strange  instruments.  These  ar- 
tists, the  host  explained,  are  daughters  of  aristocratic 
but  poor  parents.  They  are  taught  from  childhood  the 
gentle  art  of  entertaining  and  it  is  more  remunerative 
than  any  other  field  of  work  open  to  Chinese  women. 
The  usual  pay  for  one  song  is  two  dollars,  and  as  they 
are  in  demand  on  all  occasions  and  can  appear  at  many 
functions  during  an  afternoon  and  evening,  it  may  readily 
be  understood  how  they  can  afford  to  wear  rich  garments 
and  fine  jewels. 

Four  different  girls  appeared  during  the  course  of 
our  dinner,  each  one  accompanied  by  a  servant  who  car- 
ried the  musical  instrument  and  adjusted  it  for  her  mis- 
tiess.  The  singers  were  dressed  in  silken  trousers  and 
loose  coat  and  wore  many  bracelets,  rings  and  neck 
chains.  The  inevitable  jade  ear-rings  were  in  the  tiny 
ears  and  jade  ornaments  were  thrust  through  the  smooth 
coils  of  glossy  black  hair. 

The  musical  instrument  was  something  like  a  guitar 

56 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

and  the  long  sensitive  fingers  of  the  Chinese  girls  swept 
the  strings  throughout  the  wailing  dirge  without  the  per- 
former once  looking  toward  the  instrument.  The  Chi- 
nese singing  voice,  like  the  Japanese,  is  strained  and 
harsh,  and  the  singers  of  both  nations  tell  in  one  song 
v/hat  seems  long  enough  for  a  two-volume  novel. 


Canton 

Our  visit  to  China  was  ill-timed  on  account  of  the 
var  scare,  and  we  were  warned  not  to  pay  a  visit  to 
Canton  or  any  interior  city  as  an  outbreak  was  feared 
at  any  moment. 

However,  twenty  adventurous  Americans,  among 
tbem  three  newspaper  correspondents,  determined  to 
visit  Canton  and  boarded  a  steamer  one  night  for  the 
five  hours'  trip  up  the  Pearl  river. 

We  were  awakened  at  dawn  by  a  fusillade  of  shots 
which  scared  the  whole  bunch  almost  into  hysterics. 
Every  one  thought  the  rebels  were  upon  us,  but  inves- 
tigation proved  that  it  was  the  natives  firing  firecrackers 
to  scare  away  the  evil  spirits,  a  usual  morning  habit. 
Hastily  dressing  and  going  on  deck,  we  found  the 
steamer  surrounded  by  sampans,  their  occupants  ges- 
ticulating and  shouting  wildly.  These  sampans  with 
their  owners  form  a  veritable  floating  city.  Nearly  one 
quarter  million  of  the  Cantonese  are  born,  live,  many 
and  die  in  these  small  houseboats  on  the  river. 

The  men  and  women  eke  out  a  miserable  existence 
as  boatmen  or  porters,  conveying  passengers  and  bag- 
gage from  the  big  steamers  to  the  shore.  Each  sampan 
has  from  three  to  a  dozen  children  climbing  like  mon- 
keys over  the  boat. 

Canton  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  cities  in  China. 
Within  its  moss-covered  walls,  heavy  with  the  scars  of 

57 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

centuries,  are  contained  a  priceless  collection  of  objects 
of  historical  value,  beautiful  temples  and  monasteries. 
It  is  said  the  city  has  not  changed  much  in  the  last  one 
thousand  years. 

When  we  reached  shore  we  found  that  owing  to 
threatened  riots,  the  gates  of  the  walled  city  were  closed 
and  we  could  not  enter.  We  were  advised  to  return 
to  our  steamer  at  once  as  it  was  considered  unsafe  to 
be  on  the  streets.  However,  the  American  spirit  of  ad- 
venture and  fearlessness  pervaded  the  crowd,  and  se- 
curing sedan  chairs  and  guides,  we  were  off  for  a  look 
at  the  city  outside  the  wall. 

Canton  proper  extends  to  a  breadth  of  about  two 
miles,  is  about  six  miles  in  circumference  and  is  en- 
closed by  walls  twenty  feet  thick  and  from  twenty-five 
to  forty-five  feet  high.  The  gates  into  the  old  city  are 
sixteen  in  number,  with  two  water  gates  which  are  closed 
at  night. 

It  is  a  foul-smelling,  filthy  place.  The  streets  in 
many  places  measure  only  five  or  eight  feet  in  width. 
Canton  is  a  huge  bazaar  from  one  end  to  the  other. 
There  are  booths  of  wonderful  old  porcelain,  teakwood 
furniture,  wares  and  curios,  jewelry  and  beautiful  jade 
and  soapstone. 

One  industry  from  which  we  probably  got  the  idea 
ot  enameling  rosebuds,  is  the  enameling  of  the  feathers 
of  the  kingfisher  bird,  and  fashioning  the  delicate  blue 
feathers  into  bits  of  jewelry,  brooches,  ear-rings  and 
scarf  pins.  It  is  said  a  workman  cannot  follow  this 
trade  for  more  than  three  years  without  losing  his  eye- 
sight. 

No  European  has  ever  lived  within  the  walled  city. 
For  centuries  the  wall  has  shut  out  the  world  that  the 
Cantonese  seems  to  fear,  and  which,  in  course  of  time, 
he  must  admit.  Canton  has  always  been  a  hotbed  of 
intrigue  and  duplicity,  and  in  its  annals  can  boast  of 

58 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

greater    outrages    against   justice    and    the    laws    of   hu- 
manity than  any  other  city  in  the  world. 

Some  day,  when  civilization  shall  have  stamped  out 
superstition  and  ignorance,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
Chinese  are  resourceful,  virile,  hardy  and  industrious. 
Some  day  China,  at  once  the  oldest  and  the-  youngest 
o*  the  great  nations — old  in  a  history  wholly  unique, 
and  young  in  a  virility  that  is  unsurpassed,  will  startle 
the  world  with  her  untold  wealth  of  resources. 


59 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


TOWARD  THE  EQUATOR 


"Blow  Hot,  Blow  Cold" 

We  have  been  alternately  frappe-ed  and  pan-roasted 
on  this  world  tour.  On  the  trip  across  from  Seattle  it 
was  bitterly  cold  and  throughout  Japan  the  cold  rains 
chilled  the  marrow  in  our  bones.  In  Manila  we  almost 
suffered  sunstroke,  in  China  we  cooled  off  a  bit,  but 
it  remained  for  Singapore  to  add  the  crowning  stroke  of 
torture  to  frazzled  nerves.  Only  eighty  miles  north  of 
the  equator,  it  is  so  hot  we  can  do  nothing  but  sit  un- 
der an  electric  fan  and  drink  iced  drinks.  One  feels 
that  it  is  not  worth  while  to  travel  ten  thousand  miles 
just  to  do  that — one  can  fan  and  drink  at  home. 

We  packed  all  our  heavy  clothing  at  Hong  Kong  and 
shipped  it  on  to  Ceylon  and  now  we  are  given 
the  cheering  information  that  it  is  bitterly  cold  in 
Northern  India,  at  night,  and  we  shall  need  our  heav- 
iest clothing;  that  the  hotels  and  trains  do  not  furnish 
bedding  of  any  description.  Just  fancy  a  bunch  of  Ca'i- 
fornia  men  and  women  toiling  through  India,  attending 
the  coronation  of  the  king,  carrying  a  pack  of  quilts 
and  pillows.  We  shall  look  like  a  lot  of  steerage  pas- 
sengers. 

If  there's  anything  in  suggestion  we  shall  contract 
every  disease  flesh  is  heir  to.  Everybody  in  the  Far 
Kast  seems  to  take  a  fiendish  delight  in  telling  the  sus- 
cc-ptible  American  tourist  what  he  may  suffer  'ere  he 

60 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

escapes  to  a  healthier  clime.  They  begin  with  "Dan- 
gue,"  a  sort  of  malarial  fever,  which  every  one  must 
have  or  be  hopelessly  out  of  style,  and  run  the  gamut 
of  human  ills  to  leprosy  and  elephantisis. 

We  have  been  warned  not  to  eat  green  vegetables 
because  of  the  soil's  poor  drainage;  told  that  meat  is 
too  heavy  a  food  for  the  tropics;  that  we  must,  on  no 
account,  eat  acid  fruits  because  they  make  the  blood 
thin;  that  the  water  throughout  the  Orient  is  deadly 
and  one  must  drink  the  bottled  soda  water.  Then  some 
one  bobbed  up  with  the  information  that  soda  water 
would  cause  a  calcareous  deposit  around  the  joints.  I 
do  not  know  what  a  calcareous  deposit  is,  but  it  sounds 
awful. 

Some  one  advised  us  to  live  on  rice  and  curry.  We 
began,  valiantly,  to  consume  quantities  of  that  fiery,  pep- 
pery stuff,  when,  alas!  another  croaker  said:  "Curry 
will  enlarge  and  harden  the  liver." 

We  are  warned  not  to  be  in  the  sun  more  than  ten 
minutes  at  a  time  and  never  turn  our  backs  to  it  else 
we'll  have  sunstroke,  and  never,  never  go  out  in  the 
rain,  else  we'll  have  chills  and  fever. 

We  have  concluded  that  the  only  way  to  be  well  and 
happy  is  to  return  home  and  never  again  leave  Los  An- 
geles county,  California,  U.  S.  A. 

The  East  is  absorbingly  interesting  and  the  native 
study  from  a  sociological  standpoint  is  an  education, 
but  it  takes  a  stout  heart  and  a  clear  brain  and  a  strong 
physique  to  meet  the  suggestion  of  disaster  without  suc- 
cumbing. 

Kipling  says:  "If  you  can  keep  your  head  while  all 
about  you  are  losing  theirs — if  you  can  force  your  heart 
and  nerve  and  sinew  to  serve  their  turn  long  after  they 
are  gone,  you'll  be  a  man." 

It  requires  just  such  strength  of  will  to  be  happy 
end  comfortable  in  the  Far  East. 

61 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


Singapore 


Singapore  is  an  island,  south  of  and  just  off  the 
Malay  Peninsula.  It  is  the  most  southerly  point  in  Asia. 
The  city  of  Singapore  is  the  capital  and  the  largest  city 
of  the  Straits  settlements.  It  is  under  British  control. 

This  Malayan  city  is  called  the  gateway  to  the  East 
and  it  is  the  port  of  call  for  steamships  from  every  part 
of  the  world.  Every  transport,  every  passenger  boat, 
every  freight  boat,  every  big  maru  and  every  war  ves- 
sel that  sails  from  Asia  to  Europe  puts  in  at  Singapore. 

Never  was  a  sea  so  "deeply,  darkly,  beautifully  blue" 
as  the  harbor  at  Singapore.  Looking  out  from  the  gal- 
lery of  our  hotel  over  the  green  plaza  with  its  towering 
palms  and  vivid  hued  tropical  blooms,  across  the  red 
graveled  bund  to  the  turquoise  water  sparkling  in  the 
brilliant  sunshine,  one  is  impressed  with  the  thought  that 
some  sort  of  fiesta  is  taking  place.  The  water  is  alive 
with  merchant  craft  and  palatial  steamships  from  every 
country  and  grim  warships  stand  majestically  at  anchor. 
There  are  odd  house  boats  of  the  natives  white  winged 
yachts  and  luxurious  launches  of  the  English  residents, 
Chinese  junks  with  the  great  eye  painted  on  the  prow 
for  "How  can  go  if  cannot  see?  How  can  see  if  have 
not  eye?"  The  vari-colored  flags  of  the  cosmopolitan 
shipping  make  it  a  scene  of  unusual  interest. 

When  a  boat  steams  into  the  harbor  it  is  im- 
mediately surrounded  by  scores  of  native  canoes  ID 
which  sit  Malayan  men  and  boys,  nude  save  for  ab- 
breviated trunks,  their  brown  bodies  gleaming  in  the 
sun.  These  human  fish  dive  for  the  coins  which  the  in- 
dulgent travelers,  who  crowd  the  deck  rail,  throw  into 
the  water.  Discordantly  jabbering  and  frantically  pad- 
dling with  one  oar,  the  boatmen  eagerly  watch  for  the 
coveted  copper  and  when  it  is  tossed  far  out  into  the 
water,  a  dozen  or  more  lithe,  brown  bodies  dart  grace- 

62 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

fully  after  it.  They  come  up  sputtering  and  blowing,  the 
lucky  finder  holding  the  coin  aloft,  his  white  perfect 
teeth  showing  in  a  broad  smile,  his  gentle,  doglike  eyes 
pleading  for  more.  They  are  only  happy,  irresponsible 
children,  these  Malayan  men  and  boys. 

Not  only  is  Singapore  very  hot,  it  is  also  very  moist. 
It  rains  daily  during  certain  seasons  and  the  steaming 
earth  sends  forth  a  moisture  that  is  enervating  and 
depressing.  The  European  who  comes  here  to  live  soon 
feels  the  need  of  a  stimulant  and  resorts  either  to  drugs 
or  intoxicants.  I  ana  told  that  it  is  the  custom  of  Euro- 
peans to  swallow  from  three  to  five  grains  of  quinine 
daily,  just  to  tone  up  his  system.  He  acknowledges 
that  it  does  not  prevent  fevers,  but  it  minimizes  the  se- 
verity of  the  attack,  whereas  if  he  did  not  take  the 
drug  the  high  temperature  would  last  many  days.  The 
morning  greeting  in  the  Straits  settlement  is  not  "How 
are  you,"  but  "What  is  your  temperature  this  morning?" 

It  is  incomprehensible  how  much  liquor  the  Europeans 
in  this  country  can  consume  and  show  no  signs  of  intoxi- 
cation. Every  man  and  many  women  sitting  on  the  hotel 
galleries  have  a  glass  of  brandy  and  soda  at  their  elbow. 
At  table  it  is  drunk  instead  of  water,  and  it  supple- 
ments the  afternoon  tea.  They  say  it  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  keep  one  "fit."  When  you  visit  at  an  English 
home  in  the  East  you  are  offered  a  brandy  and  soda  as 
soon  as  you  are  seated. 

The  European  man  in  business  in  Singapore  seems 
to  have  a  lot  of  leisure  time.  He  spends  an  hour  at 
tiffin  (the  noon  meal)  lolling  at  the  table  smoking  cigar- 
ettes and  consuming  "stingers,"  an  abbreviation  for 
drinks  of  any  description.  He  is  back  on  the  hotel  gal- 
lery at  four  for  tea  and  then  more  stingers  and  cigar- 
ettes. It  must  be  that  the  enervating  climate  makes  leis- 
urely living  imperative.  The  Malay  language  is  very 
easy  to  learn.  The  vocabulary  is  limited,  it  has  no 

63 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

grammar  and  inflection  means  many  different  things  in 
the  few  words  the  language  contains.  A  Los  Angeles 
\voinan  said  she  believed  there  were  only  twelve  words 
it:  the  Malay  lexicon  and  each  one  meant  a  different  kind 
of  drink. 


Many  Tongues 


Not  only  is  the  shipping  at  Singapore  cosmopolitan, 
the  city  contains  many  varieties  of  both  Asiatic  and  Euro- 
pean races,  and,  naturally,  there  are  many  different  re- 
ligions and  modes  of  life.  The  Chinaman  is  very  much 
in  evidence,  as  is  the  case  throughout  the  East.  He  is 
considered  a  more  thoroughly  reliable  servant  or  labor- 
er than  any  other  of  the  eastern  races.  Besides  the  na- 
tive Malayans  there  are  in  Singapore  Siamese,  Singhalese, 
Turks,  Burmese,  Armenians,  Arabs,  Africans,  Japanese, 
Tamils,  Portuguese,  Indians,  Javanese,  English,  Scotch, 
Germans,  Eurasians  and  the  ever  present  American  tour- 
ist The  Eurasians  are  Europeans  in  which  there  is  a 
touch  of  black  blood  usually  Portuguese.  The  Eurasian 
women  and  children  are  beautiful.  The  women  have 
great  brown,  velvet  eyes,  long  lashed  and  languorous, 
creamy  olive  skin  and  scarlet  full  lips.  The  children 
look  like  little  fat,  unwinged  cherubs. 

The  Malayan  men  are  tall  and  slender,  splendidly 
poised,  with  straight  back  and  fine  shoulders.  They  are 
very  proud  and  while  a  servant  will  assume  a  suppliant 
pose  when  addressing  his  master,  he  is  in  no  sense 
cringing.  Their  wonderful,  velvety  eyes  holding  in  their 
depths  a  confiding,  appealing  expression,  give  them  an 
appearance  of  childish  innocence  which  is  all  the  more 
fascinating  when  one  discovers  that  they  are  adepts 
at  "tricks  that  are  dark  and  ways  that  are  vain." 

The  native  Malayan  men  and  women  of  high  caste  wear 

64 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

a  "sayrong"  of  gaily  striped  cotton  draped  about  the 
hips,  falling  to  the  knees  and  knotted  in  front.  Over 
this  a  loose  white  cotton  coat  is  worn  and  on  the  head 
is  artistically  draped  a  turban  of  scarlet  or  striped 
Oriental  stuff.  Both  sexes  affect  much  jewelry.  The 
women  wear  rings  all  about  the  rim  of  the  ear,  some 
of  them  having  as  many  as  twenty  gold  circles  in  each 
ear,  the  tortured  organ  sagging  with  the  weight  of  them. 
Both  sexes  wear  nose  rings  and  ornaments,  necklets, 
ankle  rings,  bracelets,  many  odd  charms  depending 
from  each  ornament.  Babies  are  loaded  down  with 
silver  and  gold  ornaments  of  curious  workmanship, 
about  their  fat  body,  neck  and  legs.  Their  only  other  rai- 
ment is  the  shining  black  skin  they  made  their  debut  In 
on  this  planet.  The  coolie  class  of  natives  wear  only  a 
loin  cloth  and  it's  a  curious  fact  that  the  black  skin  robs 
them  of  an  appearance  of  nudity. 

Singapore  is  important  for  size  and  commercial  build- 
ings and  for  its  extensive  commerce.  The  government 
work,  of  course,  is  carried  on  by  the  English  and  there 
are  many  Europeans  engaged  in  various  kinds  of  busi- 
ness, but  almost  all  of  the  merchandising  is  carried  on 
by  the  Chinese  and  East  Indians.  There  is  an  English 
residence  quarter  where  there  are  many  pretty  villas 
and  bungalows  hidden  away  in  the  dense  tropical  foliage. 
The  principal  objects  of  [interest  are  the  shops,  a 
Buddhist  temple,  a  joss  house  with  a  statue  of  the  sun 
holding  a  bull  in  its  mouth,  a  Mohammedan  mosque,  the 
native  markets  and  the  botanical  gardens.  These  gar- 
dens contain  the  finest  specimens  of  scientific  tropical 
plants  In  the  world.  The  vegetation  Is  curious  and  un- 
usual to  a  westerner.  There  are  many  kinds  of  orchids, 
the  beautiful  parasite  c'inging  to  trees,  old  stumps 
ruined  walls  and  anywhere  the  sensitive  tendrils  can 
get  a  resting  place.  The  scorpion  orchid  startlingly 
resembles  that  huge  insect  and  the  cathedral  orchid  has 

65 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

the  churchly  lines  that  give  it  its  name.  The  variety 
erf  palm  life  is  prodigious  and  they  grow  to  mammoth 
proportions.  The  traveler's  palm,  transplanted  from 
the  African  desert,  is  a  fan-shaped  tree  which,  when 
tapped,  yields  a  pint  of  cold  water.  There  are  bread 
fruit  trees  from  which  the  native  gets  a  valuable  article 
of  diet,  banana  and  coffee  trees  and  countless  other  plant 
life.  The  Flame  of  the  Forest  is  a  tall,  stately  flower- 
ing tree  with  great  clusters  of  scarlet  bloom  more  than 
e'gbt  inches  across.  Wild  monkeys  infest  the  gardens, 
playfully  swinging  from  tree  to  tree,  but  scampering 
out  of  sight  at  the  approach  of  strangers.  Part  of  the 
original  jungle  has  been  kept  intact  in  the  garden  and 
a  keeper  told  us  that  they  were  greatly  bothered  by 
tigers  coming  down  at  night  and  destroying  the  palms. 


Markets 

It  is  interesting  to  visit  the  market  early  in  the 
morning  when  the  natives  are  purchasing  food  for  their 
own  simple  needs  or  the  day's  supply  for  a  European 
home  in  which  they  are  servants.  The  European  in 
the  East  never  goes  to  market.  It  requires  too  much 
energy.  The  house  boys  purchase  all  that  is  re- 
quired and  it's  a  novel  sight  to  watch  their  bartering. 
They  ringer  and  handle  meats,  fruits,  pies  and  bread  im- 
partially, and  when  they  have  made  their  selection 
carry  their  purchases  away  uncovered — meats  fish,  veg- 
etables all  tied  together.  The  variety  of  delicious  look- 
ing and  uncommon  fruit  is  inviting,  but  to  the  western 
taste  they  are  mawkish  and  insipid.  The  California 
delicatessen  is  out-classed  in  the  Orient.  The  natives 
cook  and  serve  everything  on  the  street  and  the  amus- 
ing part  is,  a  cook  man  with  his  stove  and  parapher- 
nalia will  squat  down  any  place,  in  the  middle  of  the 

66 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

thoroughfare  or  on  the  pavement,  where  the  passerby 
n.ust  step  over  him  or  go  out  of  his  way.  He  broils  tiny 
morsels  of  fish  and  meat  on  skewers  over  a  bed  of  char- 
coal. He  serves  soup  or  vegetables,  queer  little  pats  and 
dabs  of  pastry  and  numerous  and  sundry  articles  of 
food  unlike  anything  seen  in  the  civilized  world.  The 
natives  crouch  around  on  their  heels  eating  their  por- 
tion and  tendering  their  copper  coin  in  payment.  A 
flat  basket  tray  is  the  cash  register  and  money  box 
combined  and  no  one  ever  disturbs  it.  Sometimes  a 
gharri  will  dash  madly  by  scattering  food  and  natives. 
The  tradesman  patiently  gathers  up  his  stock  and  re- 
sumes business  at  the  old  stand. 

Gharri  is  the  name  of  the  vehicle  which  is  used  by 
every  visitor  to  Singapore.  It  is  a  small  four-seated  en- 
closed carriage  drawn  by  a  small  Javanese  pony.  The 
turbanned  Malay  driver  sits  on  a  high  seat  on  the  top. 
Bullocks  are  used  for  heavy  drayage.  The  freight  carts 
are  cumbersome,  two-wheeled  affairs. 


Hotel  Life 


One  need  not  confine  himself  to  the  study  of  native 
life  in  Singapore  to  find  novel  and  amusing  things.  He 
can  find  them  in  his  hotel.  When  we  were  shown  our 
rooms  in  one  of  the  best  hotels  the  city  affords,  we 
found  them,  except  as  for  charges,  which  were  first-class, 
about  on  a  par  with  our  third  and  fourth  rate  hosteMes 
at  home.  True,  there  was  more  space  in  the  bedchamber 
than  an  ordinary  California  bungalow  contains,  and 
each  room  opened  on  a  large  individual  lanai  or  gallery 
overlooking  an  attractive  palm  filled  court.  But  cleanli- 
ness was  noticeable  by  its  absence  and  sanitation  is  not 
found  in  the  Malay  lexicon.  A  flight  of  matting-covered 
stairs  winding  up  from  my  room  piqued  my  curiosity 

67 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

and  investigation  revealed  a  so-called  bathroom  with  a 
cement  floor  slightly  inclined  so  that  the  water  could 
flow  out  through  an  aperture  in  the  wall.  The  tub  was 
a  huge  stoneware  crock  or  jar  shaped  like  a  dower  pot. 
It  stood  under  a  faucet  and  near  by  hung  a  large  tin 
dipper.  It  seems  that  the  latest  in  bath  fashion  in  the 
East  is  to  lather  the  body  well  with  soap  and  then  with 
the  dipper  dash  the  cold  water  all  over  oneself.  If  one 
is  especially  prosperous  he  has  a  servant  to  throw  the 
water  on  him.  An  English  woman  residing  in  Singapore 
explained  that  it  was  much  more  c'eanly  to  bathe  so 
than  the  American  way  of  immersing  the  body  in  soapy, 
dirty  water.  I  did  not  trouble  to  tell  her  that  it  was 
a  very  simple  matter  to  drain  off  the  soapy  water  and 
immediately  have  a  fresh  supply. 

The  hotel  bedrooms  are  furnished  cumbersomely  with 
the  marble  topped  furniture  of  a  long  past  era.  The  huge 
four  poster  bed  has  a  tester  from  which  the  very  neces- 
sary mosquito  netting  hangs.  Not  only  does  that  fes- 
tive marauder  infest  the  day  as  well  as  night,  but  red 
ants  trail  in  endless  caravans  about  the  floors  and  tiny 
lizards  dart  about  the  walls. 

One  may  eat  in  peace  and  comfort  in  a  Singapore  ho- 
tel— if  one  can  endure  the  food  and  the  service.  The 
dining  room  is  in  a  stone  flagged  court  with  towering 
paJms  and  vine  wreathed  pillars  all  about.  The  music 
of  a  native  orchestra  sounds  faintly  from  a  distant  gal- 
lery and  while  you  sit  "in  the  shade  of  a  sheltering 
palm"  dreamy-eyed  native  youths  in  white  sayrongs, 
jackets  and  snowy  turbans  supply  your  wants.  It's  true 
your  wants  must  be  simple  else  you'll  spend  hours  at 
the  table.  Each  guest  has  from  three  to  six  boys  at  his 
elbow,  yet  the  service  is  execrable.  The  coffee  boy  will 
not  pass  the  marmalade  and  the  purveyor  of  toast  may 
not  also  produce  the  butter  without  encroaching  upon 
the  preserves  of  another  servitor.  An  Englishman  in- 

68 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

quired  of  me  "Aw,  what  time  do  you  feed?"  I  told 
him  I  spent  the  entire  day  and  part  of  the  night  trying 
tn  feed,  but  had  failed  miserably  so  far. 


Johore 


An  hour's  train  ride  from  Singapore  and  just  across 
the  bay  on  the  mainland  is  Johore,  a  sultanate,  the  most 
southerly  point  of  the  Malay  peninsu;a.  Here  great 
crowds  of  people  go  on  Sunday  to  gamble,  as  it  is  the 
Monte  Carlo  of  the  East  and  various  games  of  chance 
are  conducted  for  the  amusement  of  the  public.  The 
games  are  run  by  the  Chinese  and  their  yellow,  mask- 
like  faces  are  expressionless  as  a  bronze  Buddha  as  they 
rake  in  the  earnings  of  the  men  and  women  of  many 
nations  who  congregate  there. 

Johore  has  a  resident  sultan  whose  palace  shelters 
twenty-six  wives.  This  blase  sprig  of  Malayan  nobility 
is  only  thirty-four  years  old,  yet  he  has,  so  he  thinks, 
drained  life's  cup  to  the  lees.  He  spends  his  time  seek- 
ing new  sensations  and  if  nothing  better  offers,  it  is  said, 
he  shoots  a  horse  just  for  amusement. 

It  was  told  that  a  few  months  ago  he  imported  two 
fair  typists  from  Australia,  but  his  twenty-six  wives 
arose  in  righteous  wrath  and  the  typewriting  maids 
were  compelled  to  take  the  next  steamer  back. 


69 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


PICTURESQUE  SEA-HIGHWAY 


Near  the  Jungle 


There  is  no  colony  or  protectorate  over  which  flies 
the  British  flag  that  offers  to  the  traveler  more  alluring 
prospects  of  fine  river  or  jungle  scenery  and  a  pleasant, 
restful  holiday  after  much  strenuous  sightseeing  than 
a  trip  up  the  Straits  of  Malacca  to  the  Perak  river  and 
on  up  that  winding  stream  to  the  rubber  estates,  touch- 
ing en  route,  at  several  ports  in  the  Federated  Malay 
states.  A  week  may  thus  be  profitably  spent  in  the  en- 
joyment of  ever  changing  scenery  amidst  picturesque 
people  and  unusual  surroundings.  Such  a  journey 
through  the  peninsula  will  not  only  satisfy  the  traveler's 
craving  for  new  scenes  and  strange  faces,  but  will  take 
him  out  of  the  beaten  track  of  travel  to  places  rarely 
visited  by  any  one  save  prospectors  and  others  on  busi- 
ness intent. 

The  writer  with  three  other  California  women  were 
the  only  cabin  passengers,  one  week,  on  the  little  Brit- 
ish India  steamer  that  plies  the  narrow  searoad  the 
length  of  the  peninsula.  The  skipper,  a  bluff  English- 
man with  a  voice  that  roared  like  a  bull,  proudly  told 
us  we  were  the  first  American  ladies  to  visit  that  region. 

Like  happy,  imaginative  children,  we  "played"  we 
were  voyaging  in  our  own  private  steam  yacht  and  truly 
it  seemed  like  it,  for  we  had  the  entire  promenade  deck 
at  our  disposal  and  each  had  three  white-clad  black  boys 
to  do  her  bidding. 

70 


It's  true,  the  ardor  of  the  sun  did  not  abate  one  mo- 
ment except  when  a  passing  cloud  paused  long  enough 
to  spill  torrents  of  rain,  giving  us  momentary  relief  from 
the  heat.  But  with  double  awnings  of  canvas,  with  great 
lazy  chairs  of  bamboo,  with  punkahs  stirring  the  list- 
less air  into  some  semblance  of  activity,  with  great 
"stingers"  of  lemon  squash  at  our  elbows,  we  managed 
to  keep  cool. 

The  "play"  part  ceased  when  we  leaned  on  the  deck 
rail  and  looked  down  on  the  natives  huddled  like  cat- 
tle in  the  steerage.  There  were  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren of  all  ages  and  many  nationalities  mixed  in  with 
1'reight  and  live  stock,  the  strong  pushing  the  weak  aside 
and  all  scrambling  for  a  place  to  spread  the  bit  of  mat- 
ting that  serves  as  bed,  chair  and  table  for  the  native 
of  the  East.  There  were  child  mothers,  pathetic  little  fig- 
ures with  a  baby  strapped  on  their  back;  East  Indians 
of  the  lowest  caste  with  the  white  marks  across  their 
forehead  significant  of  their  pariahship;  there  were  lit- 
tle Javanese  men  and  women,  their  Dutch  blood  showing 
in  their  stolid  indifference  to  their  surroundings;  there 
were  Malay  men  and  women,  the  men  proudly  erect  and 
empty-handed,  the  wife  bowed  under  a  load  of  family 
baggage;  there  were  Chinese  coolies  on  their  way  to 
work  on  the  rubber  estates;  there  were  people  of  many 
other  nations  and  their  attire  and  lack  of  attire  formed 
a  picture  at  once  amusing  and  pathetic. 

But  one's  compassionate  interest  is  wasted  on  the 
average  native  of  oriental  countries.  He  knows  no 
other  life  and  seeks  nothing  better.  He  works  on  the 
rubber  estate  for  a  wage  of  two  shillings  a  day.  He  can 
live  very  well  on  twelve  cents.  His  clothing  costs  prac- 
tically nothing  and  a  bit  of  rice  and  curry  satisfies  his 
gastronomic  needs. 

We  passed  a  settlement  far  back  in  the  jungle,  on  the 
Perak  river,  wh§re  a  tribe  of  half-wild  Malayans  live, 

71 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

getting  everything  from  nature.  They  do  not  know  the 
meaning  of  money  and  cocoanuts  is  their  only  legal  ten- 
der. They  live  on  government  land  and  the  land,  without 
any  effort  on  their  part,  produces  the  cocoanuts  which 
they  barter  at  the  nearest  village  for  tobacco,  rice  and 
the  bit  of  cotton  cloth  that  suffices  for  clothes  when 
they  wear  any. 

The  hut  of  this  son  of  nature  is  constructed  from  a 
species  of  palm  called  Attaph.  The  huge  stems  are  woven 
together  to  form  the  sides  of  the  hut  and  the  roof 
is  made  of  the  palm  leaves.  His  boat  is  a  sort  of  barge 
made  of  bamboo  poles  tied  together  with  a  thatch 
roof  over  it  to  exclude  the  sun.  His  meat  is  supplied 
him  in  the  jungle,  where  game  is  plentiful,  and  in  the 
river  swarming  with  fish.  Many  tropical  fruits  and 
nuts  grow  all  about  him,  so  his  food  is  found  at  the 
expense  of  a  little  effort.  His  hut  is  built  on  high  stilts 
as  a  protection  against  snakes  and  wild  animals  and 
nere  he  dwells,  happily  content,  in  primitive  solitude, 
fleeing  at  the  approach  of  strangers. 

The  jungle  stretches  down  to  the  river  bank  and 
repels  one  with  its  mystifying  solitude  and  aloofness.  No 
one  but  a  native  can  thread  the  mazes  of  a  jungle  with- 
out a  compass,  and  even  then  it  is  a  diffcult  matter. 
A  rubber  planter  told  me  he  had  occasion  at  one  time 
to  go  to  a  neighboring  estate,  which,  around  by  the 
road,  was  quite  a  distance,  but  through  the  jungle  only 
about  two  hundred  yards.  He  thought  he  would  risk 
it  through  the  jungle  and  plunged  in  only  to  lose  his 
•way.  He  wandered  about  tnree  hours,  finally  coming 
out  on  the  same  side  two  miles  farther  down.  Many 
wild  animals  infest  the  jungle  and  the  tigers  are  so 
bold  they  come  into  the  coiripound  surrounding  the  es- 
tates at  night  in  search  of  food. 

Rubber  planting  is  the  chief  industry  of  the  Malay 
states  and  the  planters  are  European.  Fifteen  years 

72 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

ago  coffee  was  the  chief  product  of  the  peninsula,  but 
as  the  crops  diminished  yearly  almost  every  bit  of 
cultivated  ground  today  is  planted  to  rubber.  It  takes 
five  years  for  trees  to  mature  sufficiently  to  be  tapped. 
The  rubber  fluid,  called  latex,  is  found  in  the  inner 
layers  of  the  bark  of  the  rubber  tree.  The  tree  is  scored 
every  morning  by  the  natives  and  a  small  tube  inserted 
to  carry  the  latex  to  a  cup  placed  to  receive  it.  Acetic 
acid  is  added  to  the  fluid  to  cause  it  to  coagulate.  It 
'S  then  put  through  a  process  of  maceration  in  machines 
•which  converts  it  into  thin  sheets  ready  for  shipment 
to  the  London  markets.  The  crude  rubber  is  selling 
today  for  four  shillings  a  pound,  the  lowest  in  years, 
yet  the  planters  say  they  could  make  a  fair  margin  of 
profit  if  market  prices  were  to  go  down  to  two  shillings. 


Many  Travelers 


It  is  astonishing,  the  number  of  people  in  the  pil- 
grim class — those  of  the  leisure  world  whose  tasle 
turns  to  travel.  The  number  is  prodigious.  But  not  all 
of  the  tourists  travel  for  pure  love  of  travel  or  for  the 
knowledge  it  brings.  Many  rush  madly  about  from 
point  to  point  or  around  the  world  in  sixty  days,  just 
for  the  notoriety  or  for  the  sake  of  saying 
they  have  visited  such  and  such  a  place.  They  seem 
satisfied,  this  class  of  tourist  folk,  with  a  casual  glance 
at  places  of  historical  and  scenic  interest,  then  are 
impatient  to  dash  on  to  conquer  new  fields. 

Camera  armed,  the  contingent  sweeps  ashore  at  every 
port,  swarms  to  the  nearest  temple  or  shrine  or  garden 
or  palace  or  museum  or  gallery  or  whatever  of  interest 
the  place  holds.  Perhaps  the  shops  invite  their  in- 
spection. There  are  a  lot  of  male  as  well  as  female 

73 


bargain  fiends  on  every  ship  and  they  spend  the  time 
in  port  haggling  over  curios  and  selecting  picture  post 
cards.  Curiosity  satisfied,  they,  dishevelled  and  hot, 
hurry  back  to  the  boat  and  declare  they  "have  seen 
everything."  The  pity  of  it!  Eyes  have  they  and  they 
see  not.  To  glance  flippantly  and  indifferently  at  the 
wonderful  handiwork  of  a  wonderful  people  who  lived 
many  years  before  the  dawn  of  our  civilization! 

Travel  discloses  the  fact  that  not  all  the  interesting 
sights  and  people  and  things  are  to  be  found  in  the  land 
of  our  nativity.  Each  country  and  each  race  has  its 
own  peculiar  and  dominant  characteristics.  True,  travel 
induces  comparisons,  invariably  favorable  to  one's  own 
country,  but  it  does  not  make  us  intolerant.  On  the 
contrary,  it  overcomes  prejudice  which  a  limited  knowl- 
edge causes,  enlists  the  interest,  broadens  the  sympa- 
thies, in  short,  educates  and  enlightens. 

I  met  an  insufferable  little  Englishman,  an  officer 
on  an  Indian  boat — a  man  who  had  never  been  any- 
where outside  of  his  "right  little,  tight  little  isle" — 
except  to  touch  at  a  few  coast  towns  in  India,  on  his 
voyages.  He  talked  brutahy  and  with  great  finality 
about  America,  meaning  the  United  States.  He  said 
wo  were  a  set  of  grafters  and  money-mad  people;  that 
we  had  no  language  except  what  we  borrowed  or  ac- 
quired from  his  country;  that  we  lacked  the  civilization 
of  the  old  world,  were  loud,  uncouth,  boorish.  Yet,  I 
have  never  heard,  even  in  the  back  country  districts  of 
the  few  unenlightened  portions  of  the  States  such  ex- 
ecrable English  as  issued  from  his  lips.  He  recognized 
neither  mode,  tense,  gender  or  parts  of  speech,  but  wal- 
lowed through  a  mire  of  misplaced  adjectives  and  over- 
worked adverbs.  He  complained  bitterly  about  the 
Englishman's  small  working  wage  in  comparison  to 
the  average  American's  pay,  showing  he  is  as  money- 
mad  about  the  English  sovereign  as  we  are  about  the 
American  dollar.  His  finger  nails  and  teeth  showed  a 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

woeful  lack  of  attention.     Could  there  be  a  greater  indi- 
cation of  a  lack  of  culture? 

One  could  not  permit  oneself  to  become  angry  at 
sbch  a  puerile  exhibition  of  ignorance  and  prejudice. 
Some  day  when  that  chap  is  sent  by  his  steamship  com- 
pany to  America,  his  education,  scarcely  begun,  will  be 
completed  by  leaps  and  bounds,  with,  let  us  hope,  a 
f*-w  swift  kicks  added  for  good  measure.  He  will  learn 
first  of  all  that  we  do  not  wear  war  paint  and  feathers 
and  kill  buffalo  on  Broadway. 

I  also  met  a  short,  fat,  insolent  Dutchman  from  Hol- 
land, who  claimed  to  be  a  war  correspondent.  He  couldn't 
find  words  bad  enough  to  say  about  the  United  States, 
particularly  our  government.  I  fairly  itched  to  take 
him  across  my  knees  and  spank  him  soundly,  but  felt 
that  the  contract  would  be  too  great,  from  several  stand- 
points. He,  too,  had  never  visited  our  shores,  but  he 
had  "heard  and  read  a  lot."  The  great  bunch  of  con- 
ceit! If  one  could  prick  the  bubble  of  his  vanity  there 
would  be  nothing  left.  War  correspondent,  forsooth! 
He  shovrid  have  on  a  white  apron,  a  cleaver  in  his  hand, 
or  he  should  be  put  in  a  frying  pan,  placed  over  a  fire,  and 
he  would  shrivel  up  to  the  pork  sausage  that  he  is. 

They  say  that  this  big  world  of  ours  is  a  mirror. 
It  we  smile,  we  get  back  a  smile,  if  we  frown  we  get 
back  a  frown.  Everything  is  a  matter  of  reflection.  We 
may  not  see  results  now,  but  later.  I  went  on  that  the- 
ory with  both  the  Englishman  and  the  Dutchman,  and 
smiled  grimly  though  it  cost  a  dreadful  effort.  I  am 
still  awaiting  results. 

*     *     * 

The  Steamer  Habit 

One  acquires  the  steamer  habit  after  a  long  voyage, 
and  every  other  mode  of  travel  loses  its  charm.  Es- 
pecially is  this  true  in  the  Par  East  where  railroad 
travel  is  maddening.  The  cars  in  many  places  are 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

d:rty,  unsanitary  and  infested  with  rat  fleas.  One  must 
provide  his  own  bedding  for  night  travel  and  must  have 
a  native  servant  to  look  after  his  baggage  and  serve 
his  meals. 

When  the  traveler  reaches  his  stopping  place,  he 
finds  many  hotels  as  bad  as  the  train.  Even  the  places 
cf  interest — the  temples,  markets,  native  huts,  etc.,  are 
fiithy  and  odoriferous.  So  is  it  any  wonder  that  the  wind 
swept  deck  of  an  immaculately  clean  steamer  holds  an 
irresistible  charm?  Sightseeing  on  shore,  in  the  pros- 
trating heat,  soon  palls,  when  one  can  lie  at  full  length 
in  a  bamboo  chair,  with  double  canvas  awnings  shut- 
ting out  the  torrid  rays  of  the  sun,  with  the  gentle  dip 
of  the  boat  showing  first  the  blue  line  of  the  horizon, 
then  the  broad  expanse  of  deeper  blue  water,  rippling 
under  the  tropic  breeze;  to  feel  that  there  is  no  such 
word  as  hurry — dreamily  content  to  drift  along  looking 
out  on  limitless  blue  distances — no  squalor — no  famine — 
i\o  beggars — no  guides  telling  us  impossible  stories — 
just  repose,  "sweet  doing  nothing." 

The  hotels  in  the  East  are  first-class  only  in  their 
charges.  One  man  said  he  stopped  at  a  seaside  hotel 
that  was  called  "The  Gull."  He  said  it  surely  was  a 
bird  of  a  hotel,  for  when  he  got  his  bill  it  was  as  long 
as  a  pelican's.  One  hotel  charged  us  one  cent  each  for 
Btickers  with  which  they  insisted  on  decorating  our  bags. 

It  seemed  strange  when  we  boarded  a  German  boat 
where  officers,  deck  hands,  crew  and  most  of  the  pas- 
sengers spoke  nothing  but  German,  to  hear  the  band 
playing  "My  Old  Kentucky  Home."  I  fear  me  there 
were  many  cases  of  homesickness  that  day,  and  every- 
body looked  limp  and  lifeless.  Strange  how  homesickness 
takes  the  starch  out  of  the  human  laundry,  but  leaves 
in  the  blue,  just  as  rain  affects  the  linen  on  wash  day. 
This  particular  German  vessel  had  a  skipper  who  was 
the  exact  image  of  the  "Captain"  in  the  Katzenjammer 
Kies,  except  he  did  not  have  a  wooden  leg.  The  whisk- 

76 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

ers  were  there,  bristling  like  a  half  halo  and  the  accent 
was  flawless.  Looking  down  the  long  white  linen  vista 
01  the  captain's  table  at  dinner,  the  numerous  beer  bot- 
tles grouped  about  his  plate  looked  like  ten  pins  in  a 
bowling  alley  and  one  fairly  yearned  for  a  croquet  ball 
or  an  orange  or  some  such  spherical  object  to  hurl 
down  the  glistening  length  and  make  a  ten  strike.  That 
night  the  orchestra  played  "Home,  Sweet  Home,"  and 
there  wasn't  a  dry  throat  at  the  table. 


Tigerish  Sea 


The  Bay  of  Bengal  is  like  the  Bengal  tiger — untama- 
ble. You  never  know  when  it  is  going  to  act  up.  There 
is  a  season  for  monsoons  and  a  season  for  typhoons, 
but  this  deceptive  bay  does  not  recognize  climatic  con- 
ditions, but  is  moody  or  stormy  or  pacific  just  when  he 
chooses.  The  British  India  steamers  are  not  especially 
large  and  they  toss  around  in  a  storm  like  a  scrap  of 
paper  in  a  whirlwind.  Luckily  the  tempest  soon  passes 
and  the  capricious,  tigerish  bay  dimples  and  smiles  again 
as  though  nothing  had  happened. 

The  cabin  boys  on  the  India  steamers  are  Moham- 
medans and  they  wear  long  white  cotton  robes  flapping 
about  their  bare  feet,  above  wide  cotton  trousers  of 
the  same  color.  The  robe  is  confined  at  the  belt  with 
three  twisted  coils  of  black  and  white  cotton  and  a 
queer  little  black  and  white  hat  shaped  like  a  soup 
bowl  is  perched  atop  their  long  straggling  black  hair. 
They  have  fierce  black  eyes  and  they  glare  at  the  "dog 
of  a  Christian"  with  glances  any  but  loving.  To  have 
one  stand  at  your  elbow  throughout  a  long,  hot  meal 
pressing  food  upon  you  that  you  feel  in  your  inner 
consciousness  he  would  like  to  poison  if,  in  reality,  he 
has  not  already  done  so,  is  disconcerting,  to  say  the 
least. 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

The  deck  hands  look  like  sure  enough  pirates  in  long 
blue  cotton  robes  confined  with  a  brilliant  scarlet  sash 
and  a  turban  of  the  same  vivid  color  on  the  head.  The 
Indians  cling  to  primitive  customs  and  look  with  dis- 
favor on  the  modern  methods  which  would  lighten  their 
labor.  Instead  of  using  a  hose  they  haul  water  up  in 
buckets  from  the  sea  to  wash  down  the  decks.  They 
disdain  the  use  of  soap  and  launder  the  linen  by  slap- 
ping it  on  great  flat  rocks.  The  ship  decks  are  scrubbed 
with  sandstone  once  a  week,  on  Sunday  morning.  The 
scrubbing  brush  is  a  flat  square  stone  which  is  called 
Bible  stone,  because  the  work  is  done  on  Sunday.  It 
was  the  only  religious  ceremony  observed  so  far  as  we 
were  able  to  see.  After  the  meals  are  served  the  serv- 
ing men  place  all  the  soiled  dishes  and  silver  on  trays 
on  the  dining  saloon  floor,  and  providing  themselves 
with  buckets  of  hot  water,  they  squat  in  a  posture  which 
looks  to  be  anything  but  comfortable,  and  wash  and  dry 
the  utensils.  It  takes  a  half  dozen  native  Indians  to 
do  the  work  of  an  average  American  laborer.  They 
are  lazy  and  incompetent,  but  nevertheless  it  enrages 
an  American  to  observe  how  they  are  treated  by  the 
Europeans.  They  never  ask  them  courteously  to  do 
anything,  always  command  them  in  a  very  threatening 
voice,  often  accompanied  by  a  blow  or  a  gesture  as  if 
about  to  strike.  They  say  it  is  necessary  to  get  them 
to  work,  that  unless  the  master  is  harsh  the  servant 
will  shirk.  An  officer  on  our  boat  told  a  deck  hand 
to  do  something.  The  fellow  was  slow  about  obeying. 
Turning  to  the  ladies  sitting  about  the  deck,  the  officer 
said:  "Pardon  my  temper,  ladies,"  and  grabbing  the 
native  by  the  neckband,  tore  his  shirt  entirely  off  of  him 
and  kicked  him  to  his  task. 

You  cannot  hurry  the  East  and  the  visitor  to  this 
sizzling  land  soon  learns  that  he  must  take  things  easy 
01  stand  a  chance  of  suffering  the  fate  Kipling  describes 
so  graphically: 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

"It  is  not  good  for  the  Christian  race 
To   worry   the   Aryan   brown, 
For  the  white  man  riles 
And  the  brown  man  smiles, 
And  it  weareth  the  Christian  down; 
And  the  end  of  the  fight 
Is  a  tombstone  white 
With  the  name  of  the  late  deceased, 
And   the  epitaph   clear, 
'A  fool  lies  here 

Who   tried   to   hurry   the   East.' " 

The  tropic  sun  is  the  one  and  only  thing  in  the  East 
that  hurries.  It  rises  as  suddenly  as  a  jack  in  the 
box  when  you  release  the  spring,  and  sinks  as  swiftly 
to  rest.  There  are  no  soft  purple  twilights,  the  brilliance 
of  the  day  is  succeeded  by  night  as  if  a  black  curtain 
i>ad  suddenly  fallen.  The  days  and  nights  are  of  equal 
length  near  the  equator.  The  sun  rises  and  sets  at  the 
same  hour  every  day,  month  after  month  and  year  after 
year. 

I  saw  the  "dawn  come  up  like  thunder  out  of  China 
across  the  bay"  this  morning.  When  the  first  faint 
streaks  of  light  began  to  illumine  the  darkness  of  my 
cabin,  I  hastily  arose  and  peered  from  the  window.  The 
horizon  was  shot  across  with  shafts  of  vermilion  and 
gold  and  soft  pale  greys.  The  wonderful  coloring  spread 
as  swiftly  as  the  bits  of  glass  in  a  kaleidoscope  and 
soon  the  vast  greyish  black  dome  overhead  was  illum- 
ined and  the  glossy  black  surface  of  the  bay  changed 
to  incarnadine.  Suddenly  the  brazen  disk  of  the  tropic 
sun  emerged  from  the  water,  rested  his  yellow  rim 
an  instant  on  the  horizon  and  sprang  into  the  heavens 
— Day  was  born! 


79 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


A  Rich  Country 


The  trave^r  acquires  an  awesome  admiration  for 
the  British  after  he  has  journeyed  many  weeks  over 
their  possessions.  The  little  English  island, 
v.  hich  has  London  for  its  capital,  is  merely  the  front 
door  or  business  office  for  an  empire  so  vast  that  it 
fairly  takes  one's  breath  away  to  contemplate  it.  India 
with  its  three  hundred  million  souls  and  its  untold 
wealth;  Burma  with  twelve  hundred  thousand  square 
miles;  numerous  islands  and  peninsulas,  large  slices 
of  Africa,  China  and  the  two  Americas  all  float  the 
British  flag.  Does  it  not  stagger  one  to  comprehend  it? 

Burma,  portions  of  which  have  been  annexed  by  the 
British  at  various  times  since  1824  until  1866  when 
the  entire  country  became  part  of  the  empire,  lies  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  Asia,  just  east  of  the  Bay  of 
Bengal.  It  is  an  upland  territory  containing  much  roll- 
ing country  and  the  forests  abound  in  fine  trees,  among 
them  teak  holds  a  conspicuous  place.  Gold,  silver  and 
other  valuable  minerals  are  found  in  Burma,  as  are  also 
precious  gems,  among  them  rubies  and  sapphires.  The 
soil  is  lavish  in  yield  and  rice  is  the  chief  agricultural 
product.  Five-sixths  of  the  total  cultivated  area  is 
planted  to  rice.  Other  articles  of  export  are  timber, 
hides,  petroleum  and  precious  gems. 

Of    the    Burmese   handicraft   their    carving    on    wood 

80 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

and    ivory,    their    work    in    gold    and    silver,    their    silk 
weaving  and  lacquer  work  all  elicit  admiration. 


Buddhist  Pagoda 


In  religion  the  Burmese  are  Buddhists,  fully  85  per 
cent  of  the  population  professing  that  religion  and  the 
entire  country  is  dotted  with  pagodas  of  greater  or  less 
magnificence.  I  cannot  refrain  from  giving  a  brief 
description  of  one  which  is  at  Rangoon,  the  capital  of 
the  province  and  the  seat  of  government.  It  is  called 
the  Shwe  Dagon  or  Golden  Pagoda,  and  it  is  said  to  be 
the  finest  in  the  world.  Its  brilliant  golden  pinnacle 
silhouetted  against  the  sky  is  the  first  thing  the  trav- 
eler's eye  rests  on  as  he  enters  the  harbor  at  Rangoon. 
This  one  glorious  pile  is  the  dominant  note  of  the  Bur- 
mese city.  The  unattractive  harbor,  the  muddy  river, 
the  sea  of  red-roofed  houses,  form  a  pitifully  inadequate 
setting  for  so  glorious  a  gem.  The  reader  will,  in  a 
measure,  comprehend  the  grandeur  of  the  pagoda  when 
he  learns  that  one-quarter  million  dollars  worth  of  gold 
has  been  used  in  its  construction.  From  base  to  apex 
this  bell-shaped  structure  is  covered  with  gold  plates 
twelve  inches  square  and  one-fourth  inch  thick  of  twenty- 
two  carat  gold.  It  was  constructed  by  voluntary  labor, 
and  money  and  jewels  with  which  the  vane  is  richly 
studded  flowed  in  from  all  parts  of  Burma. 

At  the  base,  in  various  places,  are  curious  stone 
figures,  half  lion,  half  man,  the  peculiar  significance 
of  which  is,  according  to  Murray's  Guide,  as  follows: 
The  legend  runs  that  years  ago  a  king's  baby  son  who  had 
been  lost  in  the  forest  was  found  by  a  lioness  and  suck- 
led by  her.  When  the  young  prince  grew  to  man's  es- 
state  he  left  his  foster  mother,  swimming  a  broad  river 
to  escape  from  her.  The  tender  heart  of  the  lioness 
burst  at  this  desertion,  and  she  died.  In  remembrance 

81 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

of  her  mother  love,  the  lion  figures  are  placed  at  the 
foot  of  all  the  pagoda  steps. 

In  the  pagoda  the  worshippers  come  in  groups  or 
singly,  each  bearing  offerings  of  flowers,  rice,  fruit, 
cakes,  candies  or  trinkets  of  various  descriptions.  They 
kneel  on  the  bare  stones  and  with  clasped  hands  pros- 
trate themselves  before  the  gods.  The  place  is  never 
deserted.  Long  before  daybreak  the  worshippers  come 
and  long  after  midnight  the  chanting  of  prayers  may 
be  heard  above  the  silvery  sound  of  the  "tinkley  temple 
bells." 


Native  Types 


The  Burmese  women  when  young  are  very  beautiful. 
They  have  large,  expressive  dark  eyes,  exquisite  teeth 
and  a  healthy  olive  tinted  skin.  They  are  neat  and 
dainty  in  their  attire  and  are  cheery  and  vivacious 
by  nature.  The  Burmese  are  of  Mongolian  descent,  to- 
tally unlike  the  natives  of  India.  They  are  short  of 
stature  and  the  men  and  women  dress  exactly  alike 
except  the  men  wear  a  bright  silken  scarf  or  kerchief 
on  the  head,  while  a  woman's  head  is  bare  save  for  the 
jeweled  ornament  or  the  rose  thrust  coquettishly  in 
the  jet-black  hair.  The  Burmese  are  not  slaves  to  fash- 
ion's decrees  as  we  are.  Their  style  of  dress  never 
changes.  It  consists  of  a  short  jacket  of  linen  or  silk 
usually  white,  and  a  closely  fitting  silk  skirt  of  some 
brilliant  color,  usually  pink  or  yellow.  A  scarf  the  same 
color  of  the  skirt  is  qften  worn.  The  jacket  has  jeweled 
buttons  if  the  wearer  is  well-to-do,  and  the  women  wear 
many  rings  and  bracelets.  Even  the  poorest  Burmese 
wear  dozens  of  silver  anklets  and  bracelets  and  it  is 
said  that  their  money,  be  it  little  or  much,  is  always 
invested  in  jewelry.  It  saves  the  trouble  of  banking. 

The   Burmese   woman's   uncorseted   figure   is    slender 

82 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

and  girlish  even  after  middle  life,  and  she  walks  erect 
and  well  poised.  Carrying  burdens  on  the  head  is  said 
to  be  responsible  for  her  graceful  carriage.  The  women 
ol  every  class  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  smoke 
the  huge  cheroots  of  the  country.  They  are  eight  and 
ten  inches  long  and  quite  thick,  and  it's  a  funny  sight 
to  see  a  pretty,  dainty  Burmese  maid  walking  or  driving 
along  the  street  smoking  the  huge,  smelly  thing. 

The  Burman  is  an  idealist,  he  is  by  nature  idle  and 
loves  ease  and  pleasure.  The  women  are  the  workers. 
They  attend  to  all  business  and  are  said  to  be  much 
more  capable  than  the  men. 

Burmese  cities  are,  in  the  main,  disappointing  be- 
cause they  are  losing  their  eastern  flavor.  Under  the 
rapid  encroachments  of  the  Europeans,  the  gentle  Bur- 
mese people  are  leaving  the  ports  and  inhabiting  remote 
interior  regions.  Modern  methods  in  the  East  as  well 
as  everywhere  else,  is  good  business,  but  one  would 
like  to  find  at  least  one  spot  where  commercialism  is 
not  rampant — where  the  grayish  brown  thatch  of  na- 
tive huts  is  not  replaced  by  corrugated  iron,  where  iron 
rails  do  not  despoil  the  palm  fringed,  smooth  red  laterite 
roads,  where  the  picturesque  native  bazaar  is  not  crowd- 
ed out  by  huge  flaunting  department  stores. 

Burma  is  interesting  to  the  friends  of  missions  every- 
where, and  indeed  to  all  who  appreciate  real  heroism, 
as  the  scene  of  the  sufferings  and  service  of  the  Baptist 
missionaries,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Judson.  Since  their  work 
in  Rangoon  in  1813,  Burma  has  been  the  scene  of  mis- 
sionary work  that  is  generally  regarded  as  among  the 
most  interesting  and  successful  to  be  found  anywhere 
in  the  East.  The  work  among  jthe  Karens,  a  people 
v.hose  traditions  marvelously  prepared  them  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  gospel,  has  been  especially  successful, 
there  being  over  100,000  Christians  among  them  who 
not  only  sustain  the  institutions  of  Christianity  among 

83 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

themselves,  but  also  send  ministers  to  evangelize  other 
tribes  and  peoples  in  this  and  adjacent  lands. 


Lightning  Changes 


It  is  rather  discouraging  to  get  up  every  third  or 
fourth  morning  and  face  a  new  country,  new  people, 
new  language,  new  money,  new  postage  stamps,  new 
food,  new  drinks  and  then  presently  take  a  new  boat  to 
the  next  place  and  repeat  the  same  process  over  again. 

The  money  Is  maddening.  I  used  to  think,  when  a 
child,  that  I  would  as  lief  have  Captain  Kidd's 
treasure  of  Spanish  doubloons  as  the  coin  of  my  own 
realm — just  any  old  kind  of  money  would  do — the  yel- 
lower and  larger  the  pieces  the  better.  But  I  have  de- 
cided it  is  better  to  have  the  bright  Lincoln  penny  or 
a  two-bit  piece  with  the  good  old  U.  S.  stamp  on  it  than 
a  pocket  full  of  annas  and  liras  and  pices  and  not 
know  the  monetary  value  thereof.  There  are  money 
changers  in  every  hotel  corridor  and  on  every  street 
corner,  and  they  charge  you  an  extortionate  rate  of 
exchange  for  taking  your  crisp  American  bills  and  giving 
you  instead  yens  and  sens,  pesos  and  pesetos,  marks  and 
pfennigs,  rupees  and  annas  and  so  on,  for  every  little 
rocket  handkerchief  excuse  of  a  country  has  its  own 
particular  legal  tender.  In  some  places  they  use  coins 
of  such  infinitesimal  value  that  you  get  a  quart  or  two 
or'  coins  for  one  of  our  dollars.  I  had  a  traveler's  check 
for  twenty  dollars  cashed  in  Burmah  and  had  to  ask 
four  people  to  help  me  carry  the  coin  away.  The  money 
changer  said  he  didn't  have  quite  enough  and  would 
bring  the  rest  to  my  hotel  as  soon  as  he  could  get  it. 

The  postage  stamps  are  just  as  bad.  You  go  to  the 
postofflce  and  have  your  letters  weighed  and  ask  the 
clerk  how  much.  He  may  say  thirteen  centavos  or 
eight  pices  each.  Your  overworked  brain  tries  to  do 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

a  mathematical  stunt  while  you  are  fumbling  in  your 
purse  for  the  strange  coins  that  have  no  number  to 
denote  their  value.  You  end  by  handing  the  purse  to 
the  clerk,  begging  him  to  take  the  right  amount.  You 
probably  would  be  none  the  wiser  if  he  were  to  take  a 
dozen  times  the  amount.  Then  when  the  letter  is 
dropped  in  the  box  you  never  feel  quite  confident  that 
it  will  reach  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the 
brave,  even  though  it  has  fourteen  stamps  on  the  front 
and  six  on  the  back. 

Each  new  country  visited  means  an  interview  with 
the  customs  official.  Usually  he  is  an  important,  be- 
spectacled, serious-looking  individual  and  he  un- 
eorths  the  dark  secrets  of  your  past  with  the  assurance 
of  a  great  surgeon  probing  for  a  vemiform  appendix. 
One  man  marshalled  us  on  deck,  and,  carelessly,  but 
significantly,  placing  a  huge,  shiney  black  gun  that 
looked  as  large  as  a  cannon,  on  a  pile  of  documents, 
relentlessly  questioned  us.  Did  we  have  any  spiritous 
liquors  or  cigars  or  cigarettes?  Did  we  have 
passports?  Please  show  your  vaccination  scar. 
Are  you  married?  If  a  widow,  grass  or  sod?  What 
occupation?  Where  from,  where  to?  Any  temperature? 
How's  your  liver?  Please  show  your  tongue.  Have  any 
ot  your  family  ever  had  chilblains  or  Angina  Pectoris? 
And  worst  question  of  all:  How  old  are  you?  The 
size  of  the  gun  forced  the  truth  from  unwilling,  femi- 
nine lips. 


85 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


INDIA'S  CORAL  STRAND 


Calcutta 


Little  did  I  think,  many  years  ago,  when  I  sang  that 
good  old  missionary  tune:  "From  Greenland's  Icy  Moun- 
tains," that  some  day  I  would  be  roaming  India's  coral 
strand,  India  seemed — and  is — such  a  vast  faraway 
country,  such  a  strange,  many-sided  country.  There  are 
so  many  different  religious  faiths  so  many  strange  ton- 
gues, so  many  bad  smells.  It's  confusing,  yet  compel- 
ling, attractive  and  yet  repellant. 

Ninety  miles  from  Calcutta,  the  voyager  en  route 
from  Burmah  to  India  enters  the  Hoogli  river,  one  of 
the  many  estuaries  of  the  mighty  Ganges.  Owing  to  the 
shifting  shoals  of  the  river  it  is  extremely  dangerous 
to  navigate  and  a  special  pilot  is  taken  on  each  steamer 
as  it  enters  the  river  from  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  He  directs 
the  course  of  the  vessel  past  the  most  dangerous  shoal 
called  "The  James  and  Mary,"  from  a  vessel  which  was 
wrecked  in  that  spot  many  years  ago. 

For  six  miles  the  river  is  full  of  dangers  and  the 
crews  and  passengers  of  all  steamers  are  usually  mus- 
tered on  deck  to  be  in  readiness  to  escape  in  the  life- 
boats in  case  the  steamer  should  be  caught  in  the  quick- 
sand and  sunk.  The  trip  is  never  made  at  night,  always 
in  daylight,  at  an  nour  when  the  tides  are  favorable. 
Along  the  banks,  here  and  there  in  the  jungle  tangle, 
arise  white  towers  of  refuge,  where  the  shipwrecked 
may  save  themselves  from  the  beasts  of  prey  that  roam 
the  jungle.  We  were  told  all  this  before  the  boat  start- 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

ed  on  an  eighty-mile  trip — so,  naturally,  we  entered 
India  in  a  very  cheerful  frame  of  mind. 

India  is  said  to  have  a  population  of  three  hundred 
millions,  or  one-sixth  of  the  whole  human  species.  I 
know  it  is  true,  for  I  counted  nearly  that  many  on  the 
wharf  at  Calcutta  while  we  were  waiting  for  the  boat 
to  dock. 

Calcutta  is  an  Oriental  city  with  an  appearance  very 
European.  Its  broad  streets  and  modern  buildings,  its 
parks  and  statues  are  like  those  of  any  modern  city. 
Its  human  tide  of  white-robed  Hindus,  the  narrow 
streets  and  open-air  bazaars  of  the  native  quarter  is 
like  being  in  an  atmosphere  of  constant  masquerade. 
We  visited  the  New  Market  on  a  Sunday  evening  when 
the  crowds  are  greatest.  It  is  a  whole  city  block  of 
small  booths  or  stalls,  each  one  selling  different  things. 
One  may  purchase  anything  from  a  thimble  to  an  auto- 
mobile. It's  a  busy  beehive  with  no  drones.  The  opu- 
lent tourist  flits  from  booth  to  booth  like  a  bee  from 
flower  to  flower,  gathering  the  glittering  gew-gaws.  The 
Ing,  fat,  brown  bees  in  the  stalls  store  away  the  money 
instead  of  honey.  All  sorts  of  arts  and  crafts  work  is 
carried  on  in  full  view  of  the  strolling  multitude — the 
wily  Oriental  is  happiest  when  he  has  an  absorbed  audi- 
ence. He  knows  the  frailty  of  womankind  where  bar- 
gaining is  concerned,  and  every  one  sooner  or  later  suc- 
cumbs to  the  tempting  bait  spread  before  her. 

There  are  clever  artificers  in  gold  and  silver  orna- 
ments and  dark-skinned  beauties  bending  over  intricate 
embroidery;  venders  of  sweetmeats  and  cooked  foods 
prepared  while  you  wait;  flower  booths  brilliant  and 
odoriferous.  Soft,  pleading  voices  implored  memsahib 
"to  buy  from  poor  Indian  man,  please."  We  concluded 
that  New  Market  was  a  misnomer.  It  should  be  called 
Jew  Market,  for  the  "Jewing"  process  was  carried  on 
incessantly.  No  one  ever  thinks  of  paying  the  price 
the  dealer  first  asks.  He  appears  indifferent  and  starts 

87 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

away  when  the  dealer  follows  him  and  asks  him  to  say 
what  he  will  give.  Of  course,  the  prospective  purchaser 
puts  the  figure  very  low.  Then  ensues  a  quibbling  and 
haggling,  the  dealer  at  intervals  reducing  the  sum  a 
few  annas.  After  much  .excited  conversation  on  the  part 
of  the  dealer  and  indifferent  shrugging  of  shoulders  on 
the  part  of  the  buyer,  a  compromise  is  effected,  and  lo! 
the  article  is  secured  for  half  the  original  price. 


Our  "Bhoy' 


We  have  acquired  a  valet — a  man  servant.  It  does 
not  sound  exactly  decent,  but  no  self-respecting  woman 
or  man  either  ever  travels  in  India  without  a  bhoy. 
Caste,  that  weird  and  mystic,  yet  absurd  idea  that  pre- 
vails throughout  the  Indian  empire,  demands  that  no 
European,  American  or  hign-class  Indian  ever  does 
anything  that  he  can  have  someone  do  for  him.  You 
lose  caste  if  you  so  much  as  carry  a  picture  post  card 
or  open  and  close  a  door.  As  for  turning  on  your  own 
bath  water  or  unfolding  your  napkin  at  table,  you  would 
be  ostracised  in  India  for  that. 

I  made  a  dreadful  mistake  one  day.  I  got  out  of  a 
carriage  in  the  rain  and  attempted  to  open  my  umbrella. 
Horror  of  horrors!  Two  men  beside  our  own  servant 
n?ade  a  dive  for  that  self -same  rain  stick,  all  the  while 
regarding  me  contemptuously.  I  surely  would  have  put 
ashes  on  my  head  in  deepest  contrition  if  only  there 
had  been  a  convenient  ash  barrel. 

Our  bhoy's  name  is  James  Antony,  but  we  call  him 
"Marc"  for  obvious  reasons.  Marc  is  black  as  the  ace 
of  spades  and  he  wears  a  snowy  white  sheet  draped 
about  his  classic  figure.  His  feet  and  legs  are  bare, 
but  there  are  yards  and  yards  of  white  cloth  draped 
about  his  head,  turban  fashion.  The  Clubwoman  says 
they  have  inverted  the  teachings  of  her  youth  in  India 

88 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

— they  keep  the  head  hot  and  the  feet  cool,  instead  of 
the  reverse,  as  she  was  taught.  It  is  awfully  hard  to 
live  up  to  Marc.  American  women  are  unconventional, 
tc  say  the  least,  and  aside  from  the  Princess,  who  at- 
tempts to  uphold  the  dignity  of  her  small  retinue,  we, 
doubtless,  do  many  things  that  bring  the  blush  of  shame 
to  Marc's  dusky  cheek. 

Our  trusty  slave  sleeps  on  a  mat  in  the  hall  outside 
cur  door,  to  protect  the  memsahibs  from  the  many 
dangers,  which,  according  to  guide  books  and  hearsay, 
lurk  in  every  nook  and  corner. 

At  promptly  seven  a.m.  Marc  enters  our  rooms  bear- 
ing our  chota  hazri,  which,  if  you  please,  is  little  break- 
fast. At  nine  o'clock  we  have  a  burra  hazri  in  the  hotel 
dining  rooms.  (Burra  means  meat.)  The  association 
of  the  word  burra  with  meat  compels  me  to  avoid  the 
nine  o'clock  breakfast. 

We  dare  not  tell  our  servant  we  would  much  prefer 
to  sleep  and  have  several  meals  served  later  at  one 
and  the  same  time.  It's  the  proper  thing  to  eat  this 
chota  mess  of  tea  and  toast  and  marmalade  and  impos- 
sible fruit,  and  we  meekly  arise  and  sleepily  gulp  down 
tea  so  black  and  strong  that  it  fairly  makes  the  hair 
curl  to  drink  it.  I've  registered  a  solemn  vow,  if  ever 
I  get  out  of  this  country  alive,  I'll  never  drink  another 
cup  of  tea.  The  tannic  acid  I  have  consumed  in  the 
Orient  so  far  would  supply  all  the  spinsters  in  the  New 
England  states  with  a  mild  intoxicant  for  the  next  de- 
cade. 


Hindu  Worship 


On  the  banks  of  the  Tolly  Nullah  river,  an  old  bed 
of  the  Ganges,  stands  Kalighat,  an  old  mystic  Hindu 
temple.  Kalighat,  from  which  Calcutta  gets  its  name, 
derives  sanctity  from  the  legend  that  when  the  goddess 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

Kali  was  cut  to  pieces  by  order  of  the  gods,  one  of  her 
fingers  fell  on  this  spot.  A  wealthy  and  devout  Hindu, 
vho  owned  the  land  upon  which  the  goddess'  finger,  fell, 
cleared  the  jungle  and  built  the  present  temple,  naming 
it  after  the  goddess  and  allotting  194  acres  of  ground 
for  its  maintenance. 

We  visited  the  place  early  in  the  morning  when  the 
devout  gather  for  prayers.  The  worshippers  first  bathe 
in  the  sacred  river.  The  muddy  stream  was  fairly  alive 
with  a  motley  throng  of  brown-skinned  men,  women  and 
children.  They  splashed  and  dipped  and  raised  implor- 
ing hands  to  heaven.  They  washed  body  and  brief 
clothing  impartially,  then  resumed  the  wet  rags  and  the 
devout  posturing. 

Emerging  from  the  water,  they  placed  the  mark  of 
their  particular  caste  in  red  or  white  paint  on  the  brow, 
then  prostrated  themselves,  full  length  upon  the  stone 
flagging  before  the  altar.  Those  who  can  afford  to  do 
so,  those  who  have  many  sins  to  atone  for,  or  who  wish 
to  rid  themselves  of  sickness,  offer  as  a  sacrifice,  a  young 
kid  or  bullock.  We  passed  a  shed  where  the  poor  little 
trembling  animals  were  tied,  awaiting  a  purchaser.  As 
u;any  as  fifty  goats  and  bullocks  are  sacrificed  every 
morning.  The  poor  bleating  animal  is  dragged  to  the 
altar  by  the  religious  fanatic,  his  head  secured  between 
two  upright  posts,  and  he  is  decapitated  with  one  cruel 
stroke  of  a  huge  knife.  The  heads  of  all  animals  killed 
are  given  to  the  priests  to  propitiate  the  gods,  while  the 
body  of  the  animal  is,  if  the  owner  is  rich,  distributed 
among  the  poor  or  else  carried  home  for  food  for  his 
own  table.  The  first  animal  killed  each  day  goes  to  the 
priests,  so  often  the  ceremony  is  delayed,  each  wor- 
shipper hoping  some  one  else  will  be  the  giver. 

The  small  stone  square  surrounding  the  altar  ran 
rivers  of  blood  and  was  crowded  with  frenzied,  howling 
v/orshippers.  Among  them  the  unctious  priests  who  live 
off  the  bounty  of  the  pilgrims,  moved,  collecting  alms, 

90 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

here  and  there.     Little  children  played  about  the  horri- 
fying place,  each  with  hands  outstretched  for  coppers. 


Black  Hole 

People  familiar  with  the  history  of  India  know  of 
the  famous  Black  Hole  with  which  the  name  of  Calcutta 
ip  always  associated.  Our  American  heroes  of  Ander- 
sonville  prison  experience  doubtless  know  the  story 
of  the  Black  Hole  and  can  appreciate  to  the  fullest 
the  suffering  of  the  people  imprisoned  there.  The  so- 
called  Black  Hole  was  a  dungeon  or  small  room  which 
was  used  as  a  lock-up  for  disorderly  prisoners  of  the 
garrison.  On  the  night  of  the  20th  of  June,  1756,  after 
the  Bengalis  had  overpowered  the  English,  146  English 
men  and  women  were  crowded  into  this  small  room  22x 
14  feet.  When  morning  dawned  it  was  found  that  only 
23  of  the  number  had  survived  the  fearful  night's  ex- 
perience. The  spot  where  the  dungeon  stood  is  now 
narked  by  a  stone  floor  showing  the  dimensions  of  the 
room  and  a  marble  tablet  in  memory  of  those  who  lost 
their  lives. 


91 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

Smells  of  Calcutta 

Calcutta  is  a  very  satisfactory  city  barring  her 
smells.  The  odor  is  overpowering — ali-pervading. 

We  always  search  memory's  casket  for  a  parallel 
and  I  can  recall,  away  back  in  my  childhood  days,  two 
horrible  scents  that  the  stench  in  Calcutta  reminds  me 
of.  One  was  the  assafoetida  bag  which  my  careful 
mother  hung  about  my  neck  to  ward  off  contagious  dis- 
eases. I  remember  how  my  very  soul  revolted  at,  not 
only  the  smell,  but  the  concession  to  that  huge  Moloch, 
fear.  My  playmates  avoided  me  when  I  and  my  smelly 
bag  approached,  I  was  a  pariah,  an  outcast  on  the  school 
ground.  But  the  crowning  humiliation  was  when  the 
family  cat,  my  especial  pet,  fled  from  me  with  arched 
back  and  swollen  tail. 

The  other  smell  was  that  of  skunk  hides  which  per- 
vaded a  fur  warehouse  that  I  used  to  play  about.  If 
the  reader  is  familiar  with  those  two  smells  and  will 
fancy  the  two  intermingled  and  greatly  intensified,  he 
vrill  have  a  faint  idea  of  the  stench  of  the  capital  of 
India. 

Rudyard  Kipling,  than  whom  there  is  no  greater  in 
graphic  description,  says:  "For  diffused,  soul  sickening, 
expansiveness,  the  reek  of  Calcutta  beats  both  Benares 
and  Peshawar.  Bombay  cloaks  her  stenches  with  a 
veneer  of  tobacco  and  disinfectants.  Calcutta  is  above 
pretense.  There  is  no  tracing  back  the  plague  there 
to  any  source.  It  is  faint,  it  is  sickly  and  it  is  indescriba- 
ble. It  is  certainly  not  an  Indian  smell.  It  resembles 
the  essence  of  corruption  that  has  rotted  for  the  second 
time,  the  cloying  odor  of  blue  slime — and  there  is  no 
escape  from  it." 

If  Edgar  Allan  Poe,  whose  beautiful  verse  is  receiv- 
ing a  tardy  and  greatly  merited  recognition,  had  visited 
Calcutta  and  had  written  "The  Smells"  instead  0*  "The 

92 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

Bells,"  he  would  have  sprung  into  instant  notoriety. 
How  rythmically  he  could  have  dwelt  on  the  smells — 
something  like  this: 

O    Calcutta   of   the   smells,   awful   smells, 
What  a  lot  of  cholera  their  s-melody  foretells: 
Through  the  torrid  air  of  night 
They  enfold  us   like  a  blight. 

Is  it  sewer  gas 

Or   rodent   dead? 

O,   the   stench   that   round   me   floats, 
Can   it   be   the   sacred  goats, 
Can  it  be  the  charnel  house 

Or  prison  cell? 
O.  Calcutta,  you  outrank 
Limburg  cheese  and   septic  tank, 
With  your  smells,  smells,  smells,  smells, 
Smells,   smells,   smells. 


93 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


INDIA  CONTINUED 


Retraction 

In  a  former  letter  I  wrote  exhaustively  and  with 
considerable  heat,  of  the  miserable  train  service  in 
India.  I  am  now  willing  to  swallow  my  words,  or,  to 
swear  I  never  said  them,  for  we  have  been  traveling 
on  real  trains,  since  then.  It  seems  there  are  trains 
and  trains  in  India,  some  of  the  "jerkwater"  variety  and 
others  that  would  compare  favorably  with  ours  in  the 
states.  In  Northern  India  we  had  a  compartment  that 
was  quite  luxurious.  We  had  a  tiled  bathroom  with 
1  orcelain  tub.  There  was  plenty  of  water  bwt  no 
towels.  The  long  seats  on  either  side  of  the  car  were 
leather  upholstered  and  quite  soft  and  "springy,"  but, 
a<:  is  the  custom  in  India,  there  was  no  bedding  and  as 
tLe  days  are  very  hot,  we  had  provided  ourselves  with 
very  little  in  the  way  of  covering,  thinking  the  nights 
would  not  be  many  degrees  colder  than  the  days.  That 
night  was  at  least  twenty-four  hours  long  and  had  Alaska 
beaten,  for  cold,  by  many  degrees. 

We  slid  around  on  those  slick  leather  couches,  the 
insidious  cold  creeping  up  from  benumbed  feet  toward 
the  vitals.  Some  of  the  more  philosophical  of  our  party 
began  figuring  on  how  it  would  seem  to  see  the  world 
from  a  wheeled  chair,  for  it  appeared  that  our  legs 
would  never  be  of  any  use  to  us  again.  One  consoled 
herself  with  the  story  of  the  little  girl  who,  when  she 
returned  from  church,  was  asked  by  her  mother  to  re- 
peat the  text.  The  child  promptly  answered,  "Many  are 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

coll,   but  few   are   frozen."     The  text  was,  "Many  are 
called  but  few  are  chosen." 

As  there  is  no  passage  between  the  compartments, 
there  was  no  way  of  calling  for  help,  save  by  pulling  the 
bell  rope  and  stopping  the  train.  A  conspicuous  sign 
gave  the  information  that  a  fine  of  fifty  rupees  would  be 
in  posed  for  the  improper  use  of  the  bell  rope.  While 
we  felt  that  we  would  be  justified  in  pulling  it,  we  were 
not  quite  certain  that  our  belief  would  be  shared  by  the 
train  officials. 


Persistent  Collector 

No  one  but  the  native  drinks  the  water  in  India 
Even  after  it  has  been  boiled  and  filtered  it  is  unfit 
tor  use,  so  the  traveler  and  European  resident  must 
acquire  a  taste  for  bottled  water,  soda  or  ginger  ale  or 
some  one  of  the  various  aerated  waters.  They  are  quite 
iiiexpeusive  and  just  as  unpalatable.  One  day  at  a 
small  station  Marc  appeared  at  our  compartment  win- 
dow with  four  bottles  of  soda.  After  he  left,  a  black  man, 
long  haired,  unkempt  and  looking  like  a  stage  brigand, 
leaned  in  and  began  a  volley  of  small  talk.  Of  course 
we  could  not  understand  a  word.  It  sounded  like  shot 
rolling  around  in  a  bottle.  We  agreed  to  all  he  said 
and  smiled  reassuringly.  Presently  the  whistle  blew 
and  the  train  started  and  still  the  brigand  held  on 
to  that  window  and  begged  imploringly  for  something, 
we  knew  not  what.  The  train  gathered  speed  and  dashed 
around  curves  and  over  chasms.  We  thought  with  a 
shudder  that  every  moment  would  be  the  last  for  the 
poor  wretch,  but  he  hung  on  like  a  bulldog.  After  a 
seemingly  interminable  lengtn  of  time,  the  train  stopped 
a'  another  station,  and  calling  a  guard  we  asked  him  to 
explain  the  man's  conduct,  it  seems  that  Marc  had  not 

95 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

paid  him  for  the  soda,  and  he  rode  sixteen  miles  to  col- 
lect eight  annas,  just  sixteen  cents! 


Darjeeling 


In  Darjeeling,  the  injunction  of  a  great  writer 
comes  vividly  to  mind.  "Live  greatly,  think  greatly  on 
the  heights  as  though  on  a  mountain."  Beautiful  Dar- 
jeeling nestling  high  in  the  incomparable  Himalayas, 
sentineled  around  by  the  snow-capped  crowns  of  ever- 
lasting hills. 

It  must  be  the  benumbed — the  spiritually  frozen  who 
can  feel  no  affinity  of  soul  with  peaks  of  snow,  the 
vast  distances,  the  purple  depths  of  valley  with  the 
stainless  dome  of  turquoise  blue  above.  After  Calcutta, 
with  its  stenches,  its  heathen  temples,  its  people  praying 
in  the  market  places,  what  a  relief  to  swing  high  into 
the  glorious  forests  and  crisp  untainted  air  of  the  hills, 
to  round  the  edge  of  a  precipice,  dart  over  a  mountain 
torrent  and  look  out  on  one  of  the  most  wonderful  pano- 
ramas in  the  world — to  worship  at  an  altar — profound  and 
splendid — erected  by  a  great  and  loving  Father — the 
altar  of  nature. 

Darjeeling,  a  beautiful  mountain  resort,  where  the 
European  residents  of  Northern  and  Central  India  spend 
their  summer  vacation,  lies  under  the  shadow  of  the 
great  mountain  Kinchingaunga  and  is  surrounded  by 
other  peaks  of  the  stupendous  Himalayas.  In  this 
splendid  mountain  the  observer  has  a  vision  of  five  miles 
of  the  earth's  surface  in  vertical  height  for  it  is  27,000 
feet  high.  Around  it  other  giants  rear  themselves.  One 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  away,  Mt.  Everett,  the  high- 
est mountain  in  the  world,  lifts  a  glistening  white  cone 
against  the  blue  sky.  Truly,  as  some  writer  has  said, 
"this  is  the  roof  of  the  world." 

Apropos  of  the  Himalayas  a  story  comes  to  my  mind 

96 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

of  a  Mrs.  Newly  Rich  who  had  just  returned  to  her  home 
in  America  from  an  extensive  trip  abroad.  A  friend 
asked  her  if  she  visited  the  Himalayas  while  in  India. 
She  replied,  "No,  I  did  not,  for  they  were  traveling  on 
the  continent  while  I  was  there." 


East  Indian  English 


The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  letter  written  by  an 
Indian  to  his  employer.  The  letter  was  accompanied 
by  a  gift: 

Respected  Sir:  I  most  humbly  to  say  your  kind 
honour.  Sir,  that  you  came  froi^  Japan  with  good 
health,  so  I  am  much  glad  by  see  to  you  with  good 
health.  And  I  am  come  from  India  in  last  month  and 
I  brought  some  kind  cloth  made  of  India  for  your  as  a 
presently,  so  I  beg  your  kindly  except  this  my  presently 
things. 

Sir,   I   pray   for  your   and   your  all   family   ever   and 
ever  from  God  for  your  good  health. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

BAHADAR  SINGH, 

Indian   Mans. 


Street  Scenes  in  India 

A  funny  sight  in  the  native  quarter  of  Indian  cities 
ie  the  barbering  and  hair  dressing  conducted  on  the 
streets.  The  barber  and  his  victim  squat  on  the  ground, 
at  the  street  corner  or  in  the  road,  or  anywhere  they 
chance  to  meet.  The  barber  grips  his  customer  by  the 
ear  and  without  a  bit  of  latner,  just  wets  the  face  a 
little  and  shaves  his  victim  with  a  few  deft  strokes  of 
a  vicious  looking  razor.  Between  each  stroke  he  hones 
the  razor  on  his  bare  black  leg.  Some  casts  require 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

the  head  be  shaven  except  a  small  tuft  of  hair  on  the 
top. 

One  is  apt  to  come  upon  a  Mohammedan  at  his  wor- 
ship at  any  time  and  place.  At  stated  intervals  the  de- 
vout white-robed  Mohammedan  drops  to  his  knees,  be 
it  in  the  crowded  street,  in  mosque  or  by  the  roadside. 
He  grovels  and  murmurs  and  salaams  and  kisses  the 
earth  regardless  of  onlookers. 

The  water  carriers  are  objects  of  interest  in  India. 
They  carry  water  in  bags  made  of  an  entire  pigskin 
and  dole  out  the  concentrated  essence  of  microbes  to  the 
natives  for  a  pittance.  A  pittance  in  India  is  so  small 
that  the  American  mind  cannot  grasp  it,  so  I  will  not 
mention  the  amount.  In  some  places  the  streets  are 
sprinkled  from  these  pigskins. 

One  often  meets  a  Mohammedan  woman  on  the 
streets,  in  her  long  draperies,  concealing  her  from  crown 
to  toe.  There  are  slits  for  the  eyes  and  nose  in  the 
white  mask  they  wear  over  the  face.  I  saw  one  yester- 
day whose  mask  was  torn.  If  they  are  all  as  hideously 
unattractive  as  she  was,  I  do  not  wonder  they  conceal 
the  features. 

The  Hindu  women  do  not  conceal  the  face  entirely. 
They  wear  a  graceful  drapery  over  the  head,  and  when 
approaching  a  stranger,  draw  the  scarf  down  or  across 
the  face.  Sometimes  only  one  eye  is  left  uncovered, 
and  if  the  wearer  is  young  and  very  much  alive,  that  one 
eye  is  as  expressive  of  coquetry  as  the  average  Ameri- 
can girl's  two  eyes  are. 

The  patient  camel  and  the  stolid  elephant  are  fa- 
miliar scenes  on  Indian  city  streets.  The  camels  are 
used  for  drayage  and  the  elephants  for  lifting  heavy 
timbers  in  building  and  in  loading  and  unloading  boats. 
Burros,  the  tiniest  in  all  the  world,  are  also  used  for 
pack  animals.  They  are  no  larger  than  a  dog,  but 
carry  burdens  two  or  three  times  their  size. 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

The  jugglers  are  in  evidence  everywhere  in  the  cities 
of  India.  For  a  rupee  they  will  make  a  tree  grow  five 
feet  in  as  many  minutes  from  a  small  seed  planted  in  a 
pot  of  earth.  They  carry  the  hideous  flat-headed  cobra 
si-akes  in  bags  over  their  shoulders  or  in  baskets. 
Squatting  on  the  ground  with  the  basket  in  front  of 
them  they  play  a  weird  measure  on  a  flute-like  musical 
instrument.  Soon  a  swaying  head  thrusts  the  basket 
lid  up  and  reaching  higher  and  higher  sways  in  time  to 
the  music.  The  juggler  is  oftentimes  accompanied  by  a 
mongoose,  a  small  furry  animal  not  unlike  our  squirrel. 
If  one  pays  enough  he  may  be  regaled  by  seeing  the  mon- 
goose and  cobra  in  a  fight  to  the  death.  Of  course  the 
mongoose  always  kills  the  snake. 

Driving  through  the  streets  in  the  early  morning, 
the  natives  may  be  seen,  on  every  hand,  at  their  ablu- 
tions. 

Frequent  bathing  is  part  of  the  Hindu  religion,  and 
if  the  native  is  not  near  a  river  he  bathes  in  his  "lotah," 
a  small  brass  bowl.  This  small  brass  lotah  is  the  in- 
evitable accompaniment  of  every  Hindu  man  and  woman. 
They  use  them  for  cooking,  drinking  and  bathing.  When 
not  doing  one  of  these  three  things  they  are  seen  vigor- 
ously scrubbing  the  brass  to  a  brighter  luster.  The  aver- 
age Hindu  of  the  lowest  caste  seems  to  the  casual  ob- 
server to  spend  his  time  praying,  bathing  and  scrub- 
bing brass. 

The  Hindu  women  adorn  themselves  fearfully  and 
wonderfully.  Of  course  I  do  not  know  of  what  class 
or  caste  I  am  speaking  for  it  is  impossible  for  a  stranger 
to  distinguish  between  them,  but  one  meets  on  every 
side  women  literally  loaded  down  with  jewelry.  They 
wear  great  jeweled  nose  rings,  oftentimes  five  inches  in 
diameter.  Others  wear  nose  "bosses,"  a  sort  of  jeweled 
ornament  piercing  one  nostril.  Silver  bracelets  cover 
the  arms  from  wrist  to  elbow  and  often  the  upper  part 

99 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

of  the  arm  is  similarly  decorated.  Anklets  of  heavy 
beaten  silver,  with  jingly  ornaments  attached,  make 
music  as  the  coy  maiden  passes  along,  and  various 
strings  of  beads  and  silver  ornaments  swing  from  neck 
and  waist.  The  bare  toes  are  beringed  as  are  also 
the  fingers.  Scant  skirt  and  scantier  blouse  of  some 
gaudy  material  constitute  the  costume  of  a  Hindu  woman, 
with  the  scarf  or  head  drapery. 


Caste  Distinction 

Caste  distinctions  play  an  important  part  in  Indian 
life.  Not  only  is  there  a  broad  line  of  demarcation  be- 
tween the  upper  and  lower  castes,  but  the  latter  are 
hopelessly  separated  from  one  another.  These  various 
castes  will  not  drink  from  the  same  well  or  use  the 
same  dishes  or  occupy  the  same  quarters.  The  Hindus 
consider  one  not  of  their  faith  an  outcast  and  unclean. 
I  wished  to  buy  a  brass  bowl  from  one  of  the  natives, 
not  a  new  one,  but  an  antique.  One  day  I  met  some 
women  bearing  lotahs  on  their  heads.  Now,  I  thought, 
was  my  time,  for  I  knew  the  Hindu  love  of  rupees.  Ap- 
proaching them  I  began  to  speak  and  point  to  the  bowls. 
They  threw  up  their  hands,  and  wailing  loudly,  fled 
down  the  street.  I  was  aghast  until  a  soldier  explained 
their  attitude  toward  "outcasts."  He  said  if  I  had 
touched  the  brass  bowl  they  would  have  cast  it  aside 
as  unclean. 

Caste  is  the  greatest  social  problem  in  India.  The 
Brahmins  believe  that  in  whatever  social  stratum  a  man 
is  born,  there  he  must  live  and  die.  He  must  not  marry 
out  of  his  class  or  caste.  It  is  different  from  the  social 
problems  of  other  countries  in  that  it  gathers  its  author- 
ity from  religious  belief.  The  Hindu  does  not  expect  or 
desire  a  change,  even  though  wealth  comes  to  him — 

100 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

even  though  he  has  advantages  of  education  and  culture 
he-fitting  him  to  fill  a  higher  station.  It  would  be  wrong, 
he  thinks,  to  evade  the  decree  of  heaven.  A  child  in 
the  mission  school  may  not  accept  a  cup  of  water  from 
the  teacher.  The  child  would  be  contaminated.  The 
native  of  each  caste  is  proud  of  his  mark  which  he 
paints  on  his  forehead.  Some  are  in  white  paint  and 
some  in  red.  There  are  vertical  and  horizontal  lines, 
dcts,  scrolls,  triangles,  crescents  and  many  others. 

The  native  of  the  lowest  caste  lives  in  direst  squalor. 
His  hut  is  of  mud,  scarcely  more  than  a  hole  in  the 
ground  covered  over  with  a  straw-thatched  roof.  The 
outside  of  the  hut  is  plastered  over  with  cakes  of  cow 
dung  mixed  with  dried  grass.  This  is  the  only  fuel 
the  natives  have.  They  have  no  chimneys  in  their 
hovels,  so  a  fire  is  made  on  the  ground  outside  the  hut 
and  the  family  huddles  around  the  blaze.  Until  the  trav- 
eler learns  the  cause  of  it,  he  wonders  why  there  is 
si-ch  a  smoky  haze  over  Indian  cities  as  soon  as  night 
f&lls.  It  is  caused  by  many  fires  in  the  native  quarters. 

One  has  to  shut  one's  eyes  to  so  much  in  India.  The 
squalor  is  appalling — sickening.  If  one  let  one's  self 
see  and  feel  it,  life  would  be  unlivable  even  the  few  days 
the  average  traveler  spends  in  each  place.  The  crippled 
and  maimed,  the  mis-shapen  and  blind,  cling  to  the  car- 
riage steps  and  beg  for  backsheesh.  Many  half-naked 
men  are  living  skeletons,  and  there  are  many  shrivelled 
old  crones  who  look  so  like  mummies  one  wonders  if 
ever  they  could  have  been  radiant  with  youth  and  life 
and  love.  Every  temple  has  its  coterie  of  beggars  and 
"holy"  men.  The  holy  men  sit  in  supposed  profound 
Meditation  and  so  great  is  the  Hindu's  regard  for  a  dev- 
otee, that  he  contributes  to  the  needs  of  the  priest 
regardless  of  his  own  meagre  store.  The  "holy"  men  are 
nothing  but  religious  vagrants.  They  claim  to  have  re- 
nounced the  world,  but  they  show  no  eagerness  to  re- 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

nounce  food;  on  the  contrary,  they  have  fine  appetites. 
Ir  is  a  shame  that  these  lazy  fellows  are  permitted  to 
live  in  absolute  idleness  supported  by  individuals — many 
of  them  hard-working  underfed  people.  The  mendicants, 
professional  beggars,  sit  in  the  sun,  their  hair  dyed  a 
bright  red,  and  their  almost  naked  bodies  covered  with 
ashes. 

Hindu  women,  even  of  the  better  castes,  are  not 
given  the  same  educational  advantages  the  men  have. 
Before  marriage  the  women  are  obedient  to  the  will 
oi  their  father,  after  marriage  they  are  slaves  of  their 
husband.  Some  writers  say  that  only  one  out  of  two 
hundred  Hindu  women  can  read  and  write. 

On  the  whole  the  lot  of  the  Hindu  woman  improves 
as  the  years  go  by.  Only  a  few  years  ago,  the  widow 
threw  herself  on  the  funeral  pyre  of  her  dead  husband. 
Tbanks  to  the  government  and  the  efforts  of  the  mis- 
sionaries that  practice  has  been  abandoned.  Hinduism 
has  no  creed.  There  is,  probably,  no  religion  which  is 
so  tolerant  of  a  variety  of  beliefs. 

Mr.  E.  Greaves,  in  his  book  on  India,  says  of  the 
Hindu  religion,  "Hinduism  is  neither  a  creed,  nor  a 
church,  nor  a  society  with  unalterable  rules  and  regula- 
tions, but  a  loose  federation  whose  only  uniting  bond  is 
a  general  consent,  expressed  or  implied,  to  an  undefined 
biotherhood  of  sympathy  and  loyalty  to  an  unwritten 
tradition  that  'we  are  all  one  body  though  differing 
gieatly.'  While  they  worship  many  gods  they  are  loyal 
to  each  other.  They  believe  that  the  'masters,'  those 
learned  in  Sanskrit,  may  accept  all  the  Hindu  sacred  lit- 
erature, but  for  the  uneducated  masses,  they  must  be 
satisfied  with  crude  idolatry.  While  they  believe  in  dif- 
ferent stages  of  development,  their  religion  is  loyalty 
to  each  other. 


102 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 
vSacred  City 

What  Rome  is  to  the  Roman  Catholic  or  what  Mecca 
is  to  the  Mohammedan,  that,  or  more  is  what  Benares 
is  to  the  Hindu.  It  is  the  most  sacred  city  of  India,  the 
stronghold  of  Brahminism,  tne  seat  of  Sanskrit  learn- 
ing and  the  home  of  Indian  philosophy.  It  has  a  popu- 
lation of  more  than  two  hundred  thousand,  seventy-five 
per  cent  of  whom  are  Brahmins,  the  remainder  mostly 
Mohammedans  with  a  sprinkling  of  Buddhists,  Parsees 
Curistians  and  a  few  other  faiths. 

Benares  is  the  best  place  in  India  to  study  the  super- 
stition and  ignorance  of  native  Indians  of  the  low  castes. 
The  scene  of  most  interest  in  the  city  is  the  river  front. 
For  three  miles  along  the  banks  of  the  sacred  Ganges 
tliere  is  an  almost  continuous  line  of  ghats,  or  steps 
leading  down  into  the  water  where  the  Hindus  congre- 
gate daily  to  bathe.  The  best  plan  for  the  visitor  who 
wishes  to  study  the  customs  of  this  queer  people  is  to 
secure  a  boat  and  float  down  the  river  past  the  bathing 
and  burning  ghats.  In  the  foreground  the  observer  may 
see,  at  close  range,  the  busy  scene  at  the  water's  edge. 
The  thousands  of  bathers,  men,  women  and  children  busy 
•with  their  ablutions  and  their  prayers,  oblivious  to  all 
ahout  them.  Some  standing  in  the  water  with  arms 
upraised  worshipfully  to  the  sun,  some  kneeling  in  the 
shallow  depths,  some  squatting  on  the  stone  steps  and 
tathing  from  brass  pots.  In  the  background  a  strange 
medley  of  temples  and  red-domed  buildings — of  slender 
minarets  piercing  the  sky.  The  variety  of  buildings  along 
the  banks  of  the  Ganges  at  Benares,  is  incredible.  There 
are  temples  of  every  shape  and  in  all  stages  of  completion 
and  dilapidation  and  at  all  angles  of  inclination.  During 
the  monsoon  season  the  tides  rise  alarmingly,  washing 
out  the  banks  and  undermining  the  huge  structures,  mak- 
ing them  grotesquely  out  of  perpendicular.  There  are 
also  many  fine  private  residences  of  Indian  noblemen. 
These  houses  are  unoccupied  save  by  caretakers.  The 

103 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

owners  seldom  or  never  visit  them.  A  superstitious  re- 
gard for  possessing  property  in  the  sacred  city  is  prob- 
ably the  cause  of  their  not  selling  the  houses,  when  their 
residence  is  elsewhere. 

Little  shrines  are  dotted  here  and  there  upon  the 
ghats  and  there  are  various  wells  hard  by  where  one 
may  drink  and  be  rid  of  any  disease.  There  is  a  well 
of  knowledge  where  all  who  drink  become  wise;  a  shrine 
where  wives  pray  for  handsome  sons.  The  Hindu  women 
all  worship  at  the  shrine  of  fecundity.  They  believe  so 
strongly  in  the  sacredness  of  the  Ganges  that  they  think 
it  impossible  that  anything  could  defile  it.  They  bathe 
where  the  sewers  empty  into  the  river  and  where  the 
bodies  of  the  "holy"  dead  are  thrown.  Natives  come 
from  all  over  India  to  this  river  to  bathe.  Their  religion 
teaches  them  that  by  doing  so  they  insure  the  transmi- 
gration of  their  soul  into  a  higher  caste  than  the  one 
they  occupy  in  the  present  Karma.  They  do  not  expect 
nor  desire  higher  caste  in  this  life,  but  beyond.  Bathing 
in  the  present  stage  of  existence  in  the  sacred  waters 
cleanses  the  soul  from  sin. 

Drifting  down  the  river  one  reaches  the  burning 
ghats  where  the  bodies  of  all  Hindus  dying  in  Benares 
are  cremated.  An  average  of  fifty  bodies  a  day  are  in- 
cinerated. In  the  two  hours  that  our  party  spent  on  the 
river  we  saw  two  bodies  burned  and  six  more  waiting 
to  be  cremated.  The  body  is  wrapped  in  cloth,  the  men 
in  white  and  the  women  in  red,  and  carried  by  four 
native  men,  on  a  bier  made  of  bamboo  poles.  Reaching 
the  water's  edge  the  bier  with  the  body  tied  firmly  on 
is  dipped  in  the  sacred  water  and  then  left  with  the 
feet  immersed  while  the  mourners  go  to  the  charcoal  and 
wood  venders  to  strike  a  bargain  for  fuel  with  which  to 
construct  the  funeral  pyre. 

After  much  apparent  haggling  the  fuel  is  secured 
and  piled  on  the  ghat.  The  body  is  then  loosed  from 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

the  bier  and  placed  on  the  pyre  and  then  more  wood 
is  piled  on. 

A  "holy"  man  with  a  huge  oblong  drum  hung  about 
his  neck  beats  a  weird  tattoo,  dancing  about  the  mourners 
iu  time  to  the  music.  After  the  body  that  we  were  watch 
ing  was  all  ready  for  burning,  and  we  were  holding  our 
breath  waiting  for  the  match  to  be  struck,  the  mourners 
strolled  unconcernedly  away  and  we  wondered  what 
next.  Presently  we  saw  each  man  squatting  on  his 
naunches  in  front  of  a  barber,  being  shaved. 

It  seems  that  the  male  relatives  of  the  deceased  must 
shave,  bathe  and  don  clean  clothes  before  they  can  see 
their  kin  go  up  in  smoke.  Finally  all  was  ready  and 
the  match  applied.  The  dried  wood  burned  brightly  and 
soon  the  whole  mass  was  reduced  to  ashes.  Two  men 
v/ith  long  bamboo  poles  raked  the  fire  to  see  that  the  body 
v/as  entirely  consumed  and  then  a  female  relative  came 
with  a  stone  jar  of  water  on  her  head.  She  threw  the 
jar  on  the  fire,  breaking  the  jar  and  extinguishing  the 
blaze.  Then  more  women  came  with  baskets.  They 
carefully  gathered  up  the  ashes  and  sifted  them  into 
the  sacred  river — saving  each  bit  of  charred  wood  to  use 
for  the  next  cremation. 

While  we  were  absorbedly  watching  this  weird  pic- 
ture a  wailing  chant  and  the  clanging  of  a  gong  sounded 
back  of  us  on  the  river.  Looking  around  we  saw  a 
boat  coming,  rowed  by  many  men  robed  in  white.  Stand- 
ing in  the  front  of  the  boat  was  a  man  beating  a  gong 
and  in  the  back  of  the  boat,  on  a  sort  of  platform, 
was  the  dead  body  of  a  man,  trussed  up  with  cords  in 
a  sitting  posture,  with  a  stone  slab  on  his  chest.  Marc 
explained  to  us  that  it  was  the  body  of  a  priest,  or  "holy 
man,"  and  that  they  were  never  burned,  but  instead  the 
body  is  thrown  into  the  Ganges. 

Rowing  to  the  police  boat  near  by  the  boatmen  ob- 
tained a  permit  to  bury  in  the  river  the  sacred  body  of 

105 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

tbeir  beloved  dead,  and  then  they  rowed  out  to  mid- 
stream and  without  any  cermony  other  than  the  ding  of 
the  gong  and  chant  of  singers,  consigned  the  remains 
to  its  watery  grave.  The  Hindus  believe  that  the  bodies 
of  the  "holy"  men  continue  to  do  good  after  they  are 
thrown  in  the  river;  that  they  render  the  Ganges  all  the 
more  sacred. 

One  could  linger  for  hours  in  a  boat  on  the  river, 
watching  the  bathing,  praying,  chanting,  swarms,  all 
classes,  all  ages,  a  panorama  unequalled  apywhere. 
Sacred  white  cows  sun  themselves  on  the  stone  steps 
and  brown  figures,  vividly  clad,  pass  in  endless  proces- 
ion.  Monkeys  gambol  along  the  roofs  and  crows  make 
the  air  discordant  with  their  raucous  cries.  The  sick 
who  are  brought  to  the  ghats  to  die  turn  their  faces 
toward  the  Ganges,  that  their  last  glance  may  linger  on 
the  sacred  water. 

Benares  holds  much  of  interest  for  the  traveler  be- 
side the  bathing  and  burning  ghats.  A  few  miles  out 
are  the  ruins  of  the  old  city  of  Sarnath,  where  Buddha 
ai  peared  after  his  long  communion  in  the  wilderness. 
It  is  said  he  preached  his  first  sermon  at  Sarnath. 

Benares  is  noted  for  its  brass  work,  which  is  one  of 
the  chief  industries.  There  are  over  600  factories  for 
making  brass  articles. 

It  is  said  that  the  Indian  Christian  population  num- 
bers only  about  800,  although  missionaries  have  occupied 
the  field  for  nearly  a  century.  While  the  visible  results 
of  the  work  of  the  Christian  missionaries  may  be  disap- 
pointing, there  is  in  no  sense  a  failure,  for  the  influence 
of  Christian  educational  work  among  the  boys  and  girls 
is  being  felt  more  and  more  every  year. 


106 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


INDIA  CONTINUED 


The  Durbar 


To  go  or  not  to  go,  that  was  the  question. 

Whether  it  were  better  for  four  women  to  suffer 

The  deprivations  of  an  over-crowded   city, 

Or  give  up  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  Durbar 

And  go  through  Delhi,  nursing  a  "grouch," 

With   never  a  glance, 

And  by  that  means  to  save  our  time,  our  money, 

Our  patience,  our  temper 

And  all  those  necessary  things  congested  humanity  makes 

us  part  with. 

Although  we  were  advised  by  every  one  not  to  go  to 
Delhi,  told  we  could  not  get  shelter  of  any  kind,  and 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  obtain  food  in  a  city  taxed 
with  hundreds  of  thousands  of  troops  and  visitors,  we 
went  and  hobnobbed  with  royalty.  The  American  eagle 
almost  laid  hands  on  the  British  lion's  tail,  almost,  but 
not  quite. 

We  reached  Delhi  in  the  cold  dawn  of  a  December 
n.orning.  It  was  the  day  the  king  and  queen  were  to 
make  their  entry  and  we,  as  loyal  citizens  of  a  sister 
kingdom,  felt  that  it  was  as  little  as  we  could  do  to 
get  there  a  bit  in  advance  and  give  them  a  hearty  Amer- 
ican welcome,  the  "glad  hand,"  so  to  speak. 

Fortunately,  one  of  our  party  had  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  the  wife  of  the  governor  of  an  Indian  province, 
and  we  were  given  tickets  for  the  state  pageant,  the 
unveiling  of  the  monument  to  King  Edward  and  to  the 

107 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

coronation.  But  best  of  all,  better  than  a  seat  in  the 
press  box  to  witness  the  crowning  of  their  royal  'igh- 
nesses,  we  were  given  a  tent  on  the  Durbar  grounds,  on 
the  same  sacred  grounds  upon  which  George  and  Mary 
had  their  tents  set.  It's  true  that  four  or  five  miles 
intervened  between  our  tents  and  theirs,  and  there  was 
a  slight  difference  in  the  construction  of  our  habitations, 
and  there  were  fifty  million  troops,  more  or  less,  be 
tv.  een  us  and  the  emperor  and  empress  to  keep  us,  and 
other  canaille,  at  bay,  but  the  air  we  breathed  was  the 
same  and  it  wafted  to  us  the  strains  of  "America,"  that 
grand  tune  that  the  English  have  the  audacity  to  call 
their  national  hymn. 

One  thing  only  pained  us.  When  we  reached  Delhi, 
there  was  no  unusual  demonstration,  yet  when  the  king's 
train  arrived  four  hours  later,  a  salute  of  one  hundred 
and  one  guns  greeted  him.  We  were  inclined  to  feel  re- 
sentful at  first,  but  on  sober  second  thought,  concluded 
that  the  crowded  condition  of  the  city  and  the  excite- 
ment incident  to  the  arrival  of  so  much  royalty  had 
caused  the  powers  that  be  to  overlook  our  arrival. 

The  salute  of  guns  was  answered  by  the  rattle  of 
rifle  fire,  rising  and  falling,  now  near,  now  far,  along  the 
lines  of  troops  stretching  for  miles  along  the  route  of 
the  king's  entry  into  the  city.  It  was  exhilerating,  soul- 
stirring,  and  grasping  our  bits  of  pasteboard  entitling  us 
to  seats  in  an  enclosure  near  where  the  king  was  to  be 
received,  we  sought  our  places.  Delhi  was  certainly  in 
festival  dress.  Flags  and  bunting,  banners  and  triumphal 
arches  everywhere.  While  waiting  there  was  much  to 
interest  us.  To  the  left  the  red  walls  of  the  fort  stood, 
grim  sentinel  of  the  king's  possessions. 

On  every  side  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  were 
splashes  of  bright  color,  where  the  troops  in  vari-colored 
uniforms,  stood  at  attention.  On  a  slope  near  Delhi 
gate  were  five  thousand  native  school  children  grouped 

108 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

on  the  greensward.  They  wore  robes  of  pink  and  green 
and  white,  and  carried  gay  garlands  with  which  to  pelt 
the  royal  pair. 

To  the  right  of  us  rose  the  white  dome  and  minarets 
of  a  splendid  Mohammedan  mosque.  Grouped  about  us 
were  dense  throngs  of  people.  It  seemed  that  every 
ri'.ce  and  creed  in  the  wide,  wide  world  were  represented, 
each  in  a  different  costume. 

The  Durbar  will  have  passed  into  history  long  before 
tl  is  reaches  the  reader,  but  perhaps  an  American's  im- 
pressions will  be  readable  even  though  the  event  has 
been  chronicled  far  and  wide  for  many  weeks. 


The  King's  Entry 


Surely  never  has  mortal  vision  looked  on  a  more 
dazzling,  a  more  splendid,  a  richer,  gayer  sight  than 
that  of  the  king-emperor's  entry,  as  the  pageant  was 
called. 

The  English  troops,  of  course,  came  first,  and  the 
king's  trumpeters  wore  dazzling  scarlet  and  gold  uni- 
forms. These  contrasted,  not  unpleasant'y,  with  the  dark 
biue  and  gold  of  the  gunners  and  the  green  of  the  Gurk- 
has and  the  sober  brown  khaki  of  the  volunteers. 

When  George  the  fifth  rode  by  on  a  splendid  black 
charger,  he  in  the  splendid  uniform  of  a  field  marshal, 
with  the  blue  ribbon  of  the  Star  of  India  crossing  his 
tunic,  he  was  greeted  by  a  subdued  huzza  and  clapping 
01'  hands.  Not  a  rousing,  thunderous,  heaven-echoing 
cbeer  such  as  we  give  our  mayor  when  he  rides  in  a 
parade,  but  a  dignified,  thoughtful,  English  expression 
cf  approval.  But  I  was  disappointed.  I  wanted  to  throw 
my  hat  in  the  air  and  shout.  I  wanted  some  one  to 
shout  "What's  the  matter  with  George?"  and  have  a 

109 


million  voices  shout  back,  "He's  all  right!"  That's  the 
way  we  would  do  it  in  America. 

The  queen-empress  followed  in  the  splendid  state  car- 
riage drawn  by  six  horses.  She  was  attended  by  her 
mistress  of  robes  and  the  lord  high  steward. 

Now  the  most  interesting  part.  She  wore  a  robe  of 
soft  white  satin,  brocaded  in  a  design  .of  roses  and  true 
lover's  knots,  in  pastel  shades  of  pink  and  blue. 

She  wore  the  badge  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter  and 
also  of  the  Crown  of  India.  Her  hat  was  of  white  straw, 
rather  small  from  an  American  point  of  view.  It  was 
trimmed  with  shaded  pink  and  blue  ostrich  tips.  She 
held  a  parasol  of  white  moire  and  she  bowed  graciously 
to  the  right  and  left  as  the  carriage  passed  slowly  along. 

It  was  a  matter  of  deep  regret  to  the  Indian  princes 
that  no  elephants  appeared  in  the  parade.  It  seems  that 
the  queen  empress  is  unable  to  ride  the  large  beast,  the 
rocking  motion  causing  her  to  suffer  from  nausea.  So, 
not  from  royal  edict,  but  out  of  deference  to  the  queen, 
no  one  appeared  on  an  elephant.  It  is  said  that  at  the 
last  Durbar,  that  feature  of  the  pageant  was  the  most 
magnificent,  the  various  scions  of  Indian  nobility  riding 
in  richly  bejewelled  howdahs  on  the  backs  of  pachy- 
derms. 

But  to  our  unaccustomed  eyes — unaccustomed  to  the 
lavishness  of  Indian  festivities — the  scene  was  one  of 
unrivalled  splendor.  After  the  English  officials  passed 
and  the  Indian  royal  scions  began  coming,  in  their  state 
carriages,  it  all  seemed  like  a  bewildering  stage  picture. 
It  surely  could  not  be  real,  this  panorama  of  vivid  color- 
ing, and  flashing,  dazzling,  glinting  light  from  bejewelled 
crowns  and  robes. 

There  were  state  carriages  heavily  emblazoned  with 
pure  gold  and  set  with  precious  gems.  Some  of  the 
vehicles  were  shaped  like  Cleopatra's  barge  and  entirely 
covered  with  silver  plate.  The  beautiful  Arabian  horses 

110 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

proudly  pranced  under  their  jewelled  trappings,  the  gol- 
den chains  clanking  and  the  silver  fringes  swaying.  In 
these  carriages  sat  the  royal  princes  of  India,  their 
dusky  faces  crowned  with  turbans  heavily  encrusted 
with  diamonds,  emeralds,  rubies  and  other  precious  gems. 
Their  exquisite  robes,  woven  of  heaviest  gold  and  silver 
embroidery,  the  design  picked  out  in  seed  pearls  or  other 
tiny  jewels.  It  was  bewildering,  overwhelming. 

Many  wore  breastplates  of  glowing  red  rubies,  others 
v/ore  ropes  of  pearls  about  the  neck  and  turban.  From 
bare  brown  hands  and  arms  flashed  diamonds  and  emer- 
alds, and  jewel-encrusted  girdles  had  gem  fringes  worth 
a  king's  ransom. 

Then  there  were  mailed  horsemen  clad  in  chain 
armor  from  crest  to  spur.  Weird,  dark  figures  looking 
like  phantoms  from  the  days  of  the  Crusade,  a  splendid 
foil  for  the  brilliant  color  all  about  them. 

The  trumpeters  blew  fanfares  upon  horns  of  curious 
shape  and  the  splendidly  caparisoned  horses  arched 
their  necks  and  caracoled  to  the  time  of  the  music. 

In  each  native  prince's  carriage  sat  with  him  a  quiet 
figure  in  plain  blue  uniform.  They  are  the  king-emperor's 
English  representatives,  ever  present  in  every  Indian 
province,  to  assist  in  guiding  the  ship  of  state  in  peace- 
ful waters. 

The  only  Indian  lady  in  the  pageant  was  the  Begum 
of  Bhopal,  the  only  and  last  queen  in  India.  Only  one 
province  in  India  is  ruled  by  a  queen  and  when  she 
passes  on  her  son  will  succeed  her,  and  there  will  be  no 
more  petticoat  rule.  Come  to  think  of  it,  she  wears 
trousers,  for  she  is  a  Mohammedan. 

She  wore  a  drapery  of  pale  blue  and  her  head  and 
face  were  completely  covered.  Two  small  slits  in  the 
mask  over  her  face  marked  her  eyes,  and  she  seemed 
to  be  eagerly  watching  the  multitude.  Her  son,  the 
prince,  sat  with  her  in  the  carriage. 

111 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

The  Begum  is  a  woman  of  refinement  and  education. 
She  speaks  English  well  and  travels  often  in  Europe,  but 
always  closely  veiled.  She  has  written  a  book  on  India, 
vhich  permits  the  outside  world  a  glimpse  into  the  life 
of  the  women  of  India. 

In  the  pageant  were  serious-looking,  gawky  camels, 
literally  burdened  with  gold  and  silver  trappings;  there 
were  huge  bejewelled  fans  waved  by  attendants  over 
royal  heads  and  there  were  great,  golden,  gem-set  um- 
brellas to  shield  the  royal  heads. 

The  king's  lancers,  in  crimson  and  white,  held 
couched  lances,  the  spears  glistening  in  the  sun  and 
graced  with  pennants  the  colors  of  the  uniform. 

Many  of  the  troops  had  leopard-skin  saddle  blankets. 
It  seemed  that  every  device  possible  was  used  to  add 
to  the  eastern  picturesqueness  of  the  scene. 

A  note  of  great  interest  was  when  the  mustered  vet- 
erans appeared.  These  were  white-haired,  white-bearded 
Englishmen  and  Indians  who  held  Lucknow  and  stormed 
Delhi  during  the  Sepoy  mutiny  in  1857.  These  white 
and  brown  men*  were  rewarded  impartially  with  the 
Victoria  Cross,  which  emblem  of  distinguished  service 
each  proudly  wore  on  the  tunic  of  his  uniform. 

There  were  judges  of  the  high  court,  stately  men  in 
the  robes  and  wig  of  their  office;  there  were  arch- 
bishops in  red  robes  and  white  caps;  there  was  one  na- 
tive troop  with  queer,  clanking  accoutrements  on  the 
shoulders,  that  looked  like  wire  pot-cleaners;  there  was 
enough  gold  lace  and  gold  braid  displayed  to  trim  the 
Los  Angeles  city  hall  from  top  to  bottom. 

For  vividness,  variety  of  color  and  gayness,  surely 
the  king's  entry  into  Delhi  nas  never  been  equalled  since 
the  field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold.  It  was  like  an  Arabian 
Nights'  entertainment. 

The  next  day  we  saw  the  king-emperor  unveil  the 
cornerstone  upon  which  the  equestrian  statute  of  his 

112 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

father,  the  late  King  Edward,  will  be  placed.  And  now 
we  are  to  attend  the  coronation  on  Tuesday  and  our  in- 
vitation reads,  "levee  dress  will  be  worn."  Now,  what 
the  dickens  is  a  levee  dress?  We  are  like  Mrs.  Wiggs' 
family  in  the  "Cabbage  Patch."  Each  one  has  some 
cherished  article  of  attire,  but  no  one  of  us  a  whole 
costume  which  might  be  construed  into  a  levee  dress. 
The  Princess  has  a  lingerie  frock  suitable  for  a  garden 
party,  but  only  a  steamer  coat  to  wear  over  it,  and  it's 
cold  as  Greenland  in  Delhi.  The  Clubwoman  has  a 
brand  new  opera  coat,  but  will  have  to  wear  it  over  a 
rainy-day  skirt.  We  all  will  have  to  wear  the  cork  hel- 
mets of  this  country,  for  we  shipped  our  hats  with  all 
other  luggage  to  Colombo,  because,  forsooth,  every  one 
said  we  would  lose  our  boxes  in  India.  There's  one  thing 
sure,  after  the  coronation  on  Tuesday,  the  English  will 
talk  more  than  ever  about  "those  queer  Americans." 


113 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


INDIA  CONTINUED 


India's  Variety 


Traveling  across  the  great  peninsula  of  India,  vir- 
tually a  continent  in  itself,  is  like  seeing  a  new  country 
and  a  new  people  every  day.  Each  city  visited  has  a 
distinctive  charm  unlike  any  other.  There  are  so  many 
races,  tongues  and  religious  faiths,  and  a  range  of  cli- 
mate almost  as  wide  as  that  of  North  America. 

The  mental  notebook  of  the  keen  observer  soon  be- 
comes filled.  What  with  the  variety  of  scenery  and  cli- 
mate, visions  of  the  highest  mountains  on  the  globe 
and  of  the  most  inspiring  rivers;  glimpses  of  splendid 
architecture  as  old  as  the  everlasting  hills;  with  a  study 
of  a  strange  people  in  a  strange  setting. 

Travel  in  a  modern  land  seems  commonplace  when 
one  compares  it  with  vistas  seen  from  an  Oriental  car 
window.  It  is  fascinating  to  view  the  constantly  recur- 
ring temples  and  mosques  about  which  are  grouped  the 
low  mud  huts  of  the  natives.  Monkeys  swing  from  tree 
to  tree  and  the  gorgeous  peacock  suns  himself  on  wall 
or  steps. 

Along  the  roadside  may  be  seen  vehicles  of  quaint 
construction;  clumsy  two-wheeled  carts  drawn  by  bul- 
locks; camel  trains  laden  with  packs  for  the  desert;  flocks 
of  goats  roaming  the  hills,  tended  by  a  bare,  brown 
shepherd. 

Many  phases  of  the  life  of  the  Indian  farmer  are  to 
be  seen.  In  the  preparation  of  his  land  for  the  grain, 
iu  sowing  and  reaping,  the  same  primitive  methods  are 

114 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

in  use  that  were  adopted  centuries  ago.  The  old-fash- 
ioned wooden  plow  is  still  drawn  by  the  patient  bul- 
lock. Harvesting  is  done  entirely  by  hand. 

At  the  railway  station  forty  languages  may  be  heard 
in  the  few  minutes  the  train  requires  to  load  and  un- 
load its  human  freight.  The  station  platform  is  a  gay 
bazaar,  its  stalls  glinting  with  brasses  and  shimmer- 
ing with  silken  embroidery.  Venders  of  sweetmeats  and 
strange,  tropical  fruit,  thrust  their  wares  through  the 
car  window,  and  there  is  a  medley  of  color  and  sound, 
compelling  and  irresistible. 

The  thing  that  haunts  one  most  is  the  pleading  ex- 
p'-ession  in  the  eyes  of  the  native  Indian.  Some  writer 
has  said,  "Those  eyes,  those  strange  eyes  of  India!  You 
may  see  them  everywhere,  in  man,  woman  and  child. 
They  seem  not  busy  with  the  present,  but  occupied  with 
what  was  behind  yesterday  or  is  beyond  tomorrow." 

And  it  is  so.  A  vague,  intangible,  unfathomable 
something  lies  in  the  liquid  brown  depths  of  Indian  eyes 
that  puzzles  me. 


Taj  Mahal 


All  my  life  I  have  dreamed  of  seeing  the  Taj  Mahal, 
the  wonderful  marble  tomb  an  adoring  husband  erected 
in  memory  of  a  loved  wife.  In  my  callow  days  when  I 
devoured  light  fiction,  the  description  of  the  splendid 
structure  in  "St.  Elmo"  filled  me  with  a  longing  to  see 
so  marvelous  a  piece  of  work,  and  later  the  opinion  of 
historians  and  artists  augmented  the  desire.  So  the 
reader  may  judge  of  my  delight  when  I  found  myself 
iii  the  Taj  garden  really  beholding  the  noble  pile. 

Times  without  number  has  this  wonderful  mausoleum 
been  described,  but  an  adequate  account  of  its  surpass- 
ing beauty  yet  remains  to  be  written,  and  failing  in  this 

115 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

in  is  but  idle  to  waste  epithets  on  a  building  that  defies 
criticism  and  is  within  more  measurable  distance  of  per- 
fection than  any  other  work  of  man.  One  writer  calls 
it  a  "dream  in  marble."  Another  writes,  "It  is  at  Agra 
that  Emperor  Shah  Jehan  put  a  whole  passionate  story 
ir.to  the  fairest  marble  when  he  built  the  Taj  Mahal  as 
a  last  resting  place  for  the  Persian  wife  he  loved  most 
of  his  harem's  beauties;  and  in  doing  this  gave  us  the 
loveliest  tomb,  the  most  enchanting  building  ever  reared; 
the  most  satisfying,  whether  seen  in  the  sunlight,  ris- 
ing white  and  fair  in  its  perfect  garden,  or  in  the  moon- 
light, with  yellow  tints  coming  from  the  lamps  that  al- 
ways burn  behind  the  screens  of  delicately  perforated 
marble." 

The  Taj  is  surely  beyond  any  other  structure  in  grace 
and  delicacy — in  beauty  of  carved  marble  and  mosiac  in- 
lay. As  many  as  three  hundred  different  stones  are  used 
t->  make  one  marvelously  tinted  mosaic  flower,  and  the 
walls  are  embellished  with  diamonds,  sappnires,  tur- 
quoise, pearls  and  semi-precious  gems. 

The  mausoleum  stands  on  a  raised  marble  platform, 
at  each  corner  of  which  is  a  tall  and  graceful  mina- 
ret. Beneath  the  large  dome  and  within  an  enclosure 
of  delicately  carved  marble  fretwork,  are  the  richly 
inlaid  tombs  of  the  emperor  and  his  queen.  Above  the 
tombs  proper  are  the  cenotaphs  of  carved  white  mar- 
ble, inlaid  with  a  variety  of  gems  in  the  form  of  flowers 
and  upon  the  walls  are  inscriptions  from  the  Koran  inlaid 
in  black  marble  on  the  white.  Truly,  as  someone  has 
said,  the  Taj  represents  the  highest  form  of  purely  dec- 
orative workmanship  in  the  world. 


116 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 
Historical  Places 

Cawnpore  and  Lucknow,  two  cities  of  Central  North- 
ern India,  derive  notoriety  from  their  connection  with 
the  Sepoy  mutiny,  the  native  uprising  in  1857.  The 
v/holesale  butcheries  committed  in  Cawnpore  in  July  of 
that  year  are  unequalled  for  foul  atrocity  and  treachery, 
by  any  of  the  numerous  other  fearful  slaughters  by 
the  rebels  during  the  horrors  of  that  three  months' 
Kiege.  Perhaps  no  other  cities  in  India  hold  the  same 
interest  for  the  English  as  these  two  places,  where 
their  gallant  soldiers  and  the  hapless  women  and  chil- 
dren were  massacred. 

In  Cawnpore  a  beautiful  marble  figure  has  been 
erected  over  the  well  where  hundreds  of  dead  and  dying 
English  were  thrown  in  a  heap.  In  Lucknow  the  ruins 
of  the  residency,  where  the  most  gallant  defense  in  his- 
tory was  made,  is  now  mercifully  covered  by  vines  and 
screened  by  beautiful  tropical  verdure. 


Jaipur 

One  of  the  most  interesting  cities  in  India  is  Jaipur, 
which  means  "city  of  victory." 

The  city  formerly  occupied  a  commanding  position 
in  the  foothills,  seven  miles  from  its  present  location. 
The  founder,  a  king  of  the  olden  time,  was  engaged,  as 
•was  the  custom  in  the  early  days  of  India,  in  a  conflict 
with  other  tribes.  On  the  eve  of  a  battle  he  consulted 
a  noted  seer  as  to  its  outcome  and  was  told  that  his 
city  was  doomed  and  he  would  have  to  remove  himself 
and  his  chattels  to  another  place.  In  just  three  days 
the  wise  old  ruler  gathered  together  his  Lares  and 
Penates,  which  in  India  means  wives  and  children,  and 
escaped  to  the  valley  below,  where  he  built  a  new  city, 
all  pink  and  white  stucco. 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

The  ruins  of  Amber,  as  the  old  city  is  called,  are 
most  interesting.  To  visit  the  place,  the  traveler  must 
make  application  to  the  resident  representative  of  the 
maharajah.  A  formal  invitation  is  then  issued  with  the 
information  that  the  maharajah  will  be  pleased  to  send 
his  state  elephants  to  convey  the  traveler  to  his  destina- 
tion. Of  course,  the  traveler  is  delighted,  even  though  he 
knows  a  tax  of  ten  rupees  for  each  elephant  will  be 
expected. 

The  morning  our  party  climbed,  gingerly,  to  the  back 
of  the  huge  pachyderm,  a  salaaming  Indian  suavely  in- 
formed us  that  the  maharajah  would  like  the  "American 
photographs."  Of  course  we  were  willing  to  accommo- 
date his  royal  highness  at  fifteen  rupees  per  half  dozen 
photos.  "  The  tricks  were  all  so  transparent  that  we 
really  enjoyed  our  donation  to  the  treasury  of  the  Am- 
ber exchequer. 

Seated  comfortably  in  the  padded  howdah  on  the 
elephant's  back,  we  leisurely  climbed  the  steep  moun- 
tain road.  We  were  surrounded  by  serfs,  vassals  and 
minions,  before  and  aft  and  on  either  side.  Some  goaded 
the  elephant  in  the  back  and  some  prodded  him  in 
front.  One  picked  roadside  blossoms  for  us  and  one  ran 
hallooing  in  front  of  the  caravan  to  clear  the  way.  Many 
handed  us  drinks  at  the  refreshment  booth  and  others 
turned  somersaults  in  the  dusty  road  for  our  entertain- 
ment. Some,  quite  brazenly,  held  out  a  begging  hand 
without  attempting  to  give  us  value  received,  and  all 
stood  in  line  and  exacted  annas  when  our  destination 
was  reached.  We  have  found  out  in  India  that  one  need 
not  go  down  into  Jericho  to  fall  among  thieves. 

The  ruined  city  is  surrounded  by  a  crenallated  wall 
in  a  remarkable  state  of  preservation.  On  a  height 
above  is  a  fort  still  garrisoned  by  a  native  troop  of 
soldiers. 

The  old  palace  occupies  a  beautiful  situation  on  the 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

mountainside,  surrounded  by  hills  on  all  sides.  From 
the  terraced  balcony,  moss-grown  and  ivy-wreathed,  one 
looks  off  through  a  cleft  in  the  hills  to  the  valley 
spread  out  like  a  prayer  rug  at  the  foot  of  a  colossal 
altar. 

"""  The    interior    is    beautiful    with    the    highest    expres- 
sion of  artistic  workmanship  in  marble  and  brass. 

Delicately  carved  marble  screens  the  windows  through 
v;hich  the  beauties  of  the  harem  viewed,  in  the  olden 
days,  the  elephant  fights  in  the  courtyard  below.  A 
stagnant  pool  is  all  that  remains  of  the  moat  that  once 
surrounded  the  noble  structure. 

Inside  the  palace  grounds  is  a  Hindu  temple  where 
the  goddess  Kali  is  worshipped.  Each  morning  the 
maharajah  donates  a  kid  which  is  sacrificed  at  the 
altar  and  the  flesh  given  to  the  palace  caretakers,  for 
food. 

The  gateways  to  the  palace  are  of  superb  and  ex- 
quisite hand  decorated  brass.  'Tis  a  wondrous  sight,  this 
white  marble  pile  with  walls  adorned  with  arabesqued 
carved  panels,  nestling  against  the  mountain  side,  the 
old  citadel  towering  above  and  the  pink  and  white  town 
below,  and  beyond,  the  fertile  plain  stretching  away  to 
illimitable  distances. 

In  direct  antithesis  to  the  old  city  is  Jaipur  the  new, 
the  garish,  the  tawdry.  Seeing  it  is  like  getting  a  too 
close  view  of  a  stage  setting.  The  new  palace  is  a  can- 
en  ture  of  the  ruins  in  the  hills.  But  there  is  marked  in- 
dividuality about  Jaipur.  It  is  brimful  of  oriental  life 
and  color  and  the  natives  seem  happy  and  prosperous. 
The  streets  are  wide  and  clean,  an  unusual  feature  of 
Indian  cities.  Driving  through  them  one  sees  every  fea- 
ture of  native  life  unconcealed. 

The  people  apparently  eat,  sleep,  work  and  have 
their  being  on  the  pavements.  Groups  of  women  sit  on 
the  curb  stones  embroidering  the  slippers  for  which  the 

119 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

place  is  famous.  Others  sift  grain  in  huge  straw  baskets 
and  then  pass  it  on  to  others  who  grind  it  between 
flat  stones.  Another  woman  mixed  the  grain  with  water, 
and  small  boys,  clad  only  in  their  dusky  skins,  kneaded 
the  dough,  using  both  knees  and  fist.  A  charcoal  fire 
close  by  baked  the  loaves  which  were  offered  for  sale. 

At  many  wells  by  the  roadside  a  picturesque  Re- 
bekah,  in  flowing  crimson  robe,  drew  the  water  which 
she  carried  away  on  her  head  in  a  stone  jar.  In  the 
square,  which  is  the  centre  of  the  city,  sacred  cows 
wander  aimlessly  about,  their  horns  gaily  painted  and 
garlands  of  flowers  about  their  necks.  Multitudes  of 
cooing  pigeons  flutter  about  begging  for  the  grain  which 
the  natives  all  carry  for  them. 

The  maharajah's  band  plays  in  the  square  at  sun- 
set. The  music,  if  one  may  call  it  such,  is  a  caterwauling 
shriek  and  wail  which  makes  the  listener  flee  to  escape 
its  discordant  notes.  Truly,  life  in  Jaipur  is  picturesque. 


Money  Flies 


Along  about  the  third  month  of  an  extended  foreign 
tour,  the  traveler  of  average  purse,  begins  to  wonder  if 
he  will  have  sufficient  funds  to  complete  his  trip.  Many 
unthought  of,  unheard  of  expenses  crop  up  to  deplete 
his  store  of  rupees  and  he  looks  with  horror  at  his 
shrinking  pile  of  traveler's  checks. 

If  the  traveler  is  young,  buoyant  and  a  man  he  is 
apt  to  run  up  against  the  wall  early  in  the  game,  and 
ir,ust  either  cable  home  to  papa  or  visit  his  "uncle"  en 
route.  We  have  had  examples  in  both  classes. 

Young  Richleigh,  which  isn't  his  name  by  the  way, 
finished  school  last  year  and  as  a  reward  of  merit  was 
sent  on  a  world  tour  by  his  proud  papa.  Before  starting 
the  youth  made  up  a  cable  code  of  his  own  for  possible 

120 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

use  while  absent.  He  kept  a  copy  himself  and  handed 
one  to  his  father,  who  without  deciphering  it,  locked  it 
up  in  his  desk. 

A  month  later  the  elder  Richleigh  received  a  cable 
consisting  of  one  word,  "Laugh."  He  laughed.  It 
seemed  to  be  something  quite  pleasant.  His  code  was 
at  his  office  in  his  desk.  He  went  thither  in  the  best  of 
humor,  took  out  the  code  and  read  "Laugh — Send  me 
five  hundred  dollars." 


Mecca  For  Girls 

If  the  American  girls  who  appreciate  masculine  at- 
tention realized  what  a  mecca  India  is,  they  would  pack 
up  bag  and  baggage  and  set  sail  for  the  Far  East. 
There  are  about  five  hundred  European  men  to  one 
woman  in  India  and  the  Straits  settlement,  and  the  ad- 
vent of  a  young,  good  looking  girl  and  even  an  old, 
plain  looking  girl,  is  hailed  with  delight.  The  men  vie 
with  each  other  in  lavishing  attentions  on  her  and  her 
path  is,  figuratively,  strewn  with  roses  and  literally  with 
bon-bons  and  automobile  rides  and  theatre  parties.  Not 
only  is  this  true  of  the  larger  cities  but  on  the  large 
rubber  estates  and  tea  and  coffee  plantations  where  the 
male  element  has  undisputed  sway. 

We  met  a  young  Scotch  woman  who  had  been  out 
to  visit  her  brother  on  a  plantation.  There  were  forty 
bachelors  living  within  a  radius  of  ten  miles  and  the 
canny  Scot  had  the  time  of  her  life. 

She  was  carrying  much  excess  baggage  in  the  shape 
of  tiger  skins  and  claws,  spear  heads  and  points,  old 
war  lances,  elephant  goads,  silken  sayrongs,  jade  jewelry 
and  many  unset  gems,  all  the  gifts  of  admiring  men  who 
offered  their  heart  and  several  acres  of  rubber  with  the 
gifts.  She  had  had  thirty-nine  offers  of  marriage  and 

121 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

all  that  saved  her  from  one  more  offer  was  the  fact  that 
the  fortieth  man  was  her  brother  She  had  refused  them 
all,  probably  because  she  was  afraid  the  hearts  were  as 
elastic  as  the  rubber  the  men  grew. 

To  have  some  semblance  of  home  life,  these  lonely 
bachelors  build  a  large  bungalow  in  the  midst  of  their 
estates  and  all  live  together  with  Indian  men  servants 
to  look  after  their  needs.  These  homes  are  called 
"Chummeries"  and  a  set  of  rules  are  drawn  up  which 
must  be  observed.  One  rule  makes  it  imperative  for 
each  man  to  wear  a  dinner  coat  at  dinner.  He  may  be 
never  so  tired  after  a  tedious  round  of  overseeing,  but  he 
cannot  appear  at  "feed",  as  the  English  out  here  say, 
until  he  has  changed  his  clothing.  An  Englishman  told 
me  that  it  was  quite  necessary  to  enforce  that  rule  and 
ethers.  If  they  did  not  the  men  would,  in  a  short  while, 
slump  into  an  untidy  state  and  wear  as  few  clothes  as  the 
natives. 


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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


INDIA  CONTINUED 


Like  a  Moving  Picture 

We  have  seen  a  bit  of  adored  Southern  California 
in  this  faraway  land.  Or  is  it  really  home  and  it  is  all 
a  dream,  this  being  in  the  land  of  the  Aryan? 

A  few  days  ago  we  chose  to  see  Southern  India 
mountain  scenery  and  went  by  train  to  Abu  Road,  a 
junction,  thence  by  tonga  to  Mt.  Abu,  seventeen  miles 
distant.  Let  me  tell  you  what  sort  of  a  vehicle  a  tonga 
is.  It  is  a  low,  two-wheeled  dachshund  of  a  cart  with 
the  build  of  a  gun-carriage.  You  wedge  yourself  in 
between  the  back  seat  and  the  tailboard  and  hold  on 
like  grim  death  while  the  lithe  little  Arabian  ponies 
gallop  up  the  mountainside.  Just  fancy  how  uncom- 
fortable it  is.  But  all  sense  of  discomfort  is  forgotten 
when  we  look  out  and  see — California.  The  same  rug- 
ged foothills,  bare  and  brown,  as  in  our  dry  season; 
the  same  cloudless  blue  dome  overhead,  the  same  gol- 
den sunshine,  the  valley  a  rumpled  carpet  of  gray-brown, 
sun-burned  stubble,  the  ring  of  dun-colored  mountains  en- 
closing it. 

Against  the  mountainside  cluster  low  bungalows  over 
which  brilliant  red  poinsettias  nod  a  friendly  greeting 
and  everywhere  the  eye  rests  are  our  very  own  kind  of 
palms  and  ferns.  The  mountain  road  winds  in  and  out, 
hugging  the  sheer  cliffs  in  breathless  spaces,  and  again 
widening  out  into  a  broad  country  road,  just  like  up 
Arrowhead  way  or  the  Santa  Ana  canyon.  It  is  California 

123 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

and  this  gay  cavalcade  we  see  coming  is  a  Biograph 
company  taking  pictures  out  Sunset  Park  way,  for  a 
moving  picture  reel. 

Along  the  brown,  dusty  road,  bordered  by  chapparal 
and  cacti  amble  the  strange,  stage  like  figures.  They  are 
a  band  of  Jain  pilgrims  en  route  to  the  marble  temple 
ar  Mt.  Abu  to  make  their  adorations.  The  men,  splen- 
did bronze  figures,  bare  save  for  a  loincloth  and  a  band 
cf  white  about  the  mouth.  The  women  in  decollette 
bodices,  reaching  just  below  the  breast  and  a  wide, 
pleated  crimson  skirt,  fastened  low  about  the  hips.  The 
brown  skin  of  the  Indians  rob  them  of  any  appearance 
of  nudity. 

En  route  to  this  Mecca  of  Jain  faith,  the  little  band 
is  equipped  with  bedding  and  food  all  strapped  on  huge, 
awkward  camels.  There  are  many  children  in  the 
group,  of  all  ages,  and  all  bare  save  for  a  superabund- 
ance of  silver  bangles. 

The  men  bear  brass  lamps  with  seven  tiny  lighted 
wicks  swimming  in  a  bath  of  oil.  The  lamps  are  shaped 
like  that  of  the  vestal  virgin,  or  to  be  more  bluntly  de- 
finite, like  a  gravy  boat.  One  man  kneels  in  the  road 
before  a  wayside  shrine.  He  presents  the  lamp  to  his 
forehead,  then  follows  the  outline  of  a  cross  with  the 
flaming  urn.  The  sunshine  glints  on  his  freshly  oiled 
body  and  in  his  religious  ardor  he  seems  to  be  oblivious 
to  all  about  him.  The  "holy  men"  beat  with  bare  knuck- 
les on  oval  pigskin  drums,  and  the  balmy  California 
air,  redolent  of  orange  and  lemon  bloom,  is  rent  with 
the  hideous  clanging  of  gongs.  Indeed,  it  will  make  an 
interesting  film. 


124 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


Jains 


Notwithstanding  their  eccentricities,  I  have  a  feel- 
ing of  deep  respect  for  the  followers  of  the  Jain  faith. 
If  they  would  send  a  few  missionaries  to  America  and 
we  would  hearken  to  their  teaching,  we  would  be  more 
humane,  more  decent,  more  civu.zed.  Jain  means  "con- 
querors of  vice,"  and  while  these  people  worship  idols, 
they  live  clean,  pure  lives.  They  believe  that  all  animal 
life  has  a  soul,  and,  indeed,  they  think  souls  repose 
in  all  inorganic  matter.  They  think  it  a  sin  to  take 
any  animal  life  and  their  reason  for  wearing  a  cloth 
about  the  mouth  is  to  prevent  breathing  in  and  killing 
the  infinitesimal  insects  that  impregnate  the  air  of 
India. 

The  Jain  farmer  sits  on  a  raised  platform  in  the 
midst  of  his  grain  fields  and  with  slingshot  and  pebble, 
scares  away  from  his  crops,  the  birds  his  faith  forbids 
him  to  slay. 

A  Jain  feels  nothing  but  hideous  disgust  when  he 
sees  a  European  feeding  on  the  flesh  of  any  animal.  To 
him  the  murder  of  a  cow  or  sheep  or  chicken  is  much 
more  appalling  than  manslaughter,  because  the  animal 
is  weaker,  the  man  stronger,  and  all  have  souls. 

They  use  no  intoxicants  whatever,  considering  the  use 
of  spirituous  liquors  the  most  infamous  of  vices  and  the 
most  debasing  to  human  nature.  To  them,  infidelity  in 
husband  or  wife  is  a  crime  punishable  by  death.  They 
place  the  highest  value  on  chastity  and  honesty.  They 
believe  that  the  greatest  honor  that  can  come  to  a 
family  is  the  advent  of  many  children.  Our  Marc  has 
•\  wife  eighteen  years  old  and  they  have  four  children. 
When  the  American  race  dwindles  to  a  mere  handful, 
the  Ayran  brown  will  inhabit  the  earth. 


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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


Child  Widows 


The  number  of  child  widows  in  India  has  been  var- 
iously estimated  and  it  seems  difficult  to  find  a  figure 
which  one  could  say  was  authentic.  Some  claim  there 
are  a  million,  others  say  many  times  that  number.  At 
least  one  can  truthfully  say  there  are  thousands  of  them, 
and  they  are,  indeed,  pitiable  objects. 

Child  marriage  is  the  rule  in  India.  The  children  are 
betrothed  at  a  very  early  age,  when  mere  infants,  in 
fact.  A  money  transaction  always  figures  in  the  betroth- 
al, the  father  of  the  girl  bestowing  upon  the  parents  of 
the  boy,  a  sum  or  a  value  of  some  kind,  commensurate 
with  his  means.  A  Hindu  man  told  me  that  if  a  man 
were  a  king  of  finance  in  India,  he  would  be  a  beggar 
if  he  had  five  daughters  to  marry  off. 

The  marriage  is  not  consummated  until  the  years  of 
maturity,  about  eleven  or  twelve  in  India,  are  reached. 
In  the  meantime  the  little  girl  is  carefully  guarded  in 
her  parents  home. 

If  the  boy  dies  before  the  marriage  is  consummated, 
the  virgin  widow  may  never  again  marry.  She  is  an 
object  of  contempt  and  derision  and  must  do  penance 
the  rest  of  her  days. 

The  older  widow  who  has  borne  children  is  to  be 
pitied  even  more  than  the  child  widow.  She  has  her 
family  to  support  and  there  are  only  the  worst  menial 
tasks  given  her  to  do.  The  widow  believes  that  an  evil 
spirit  within  her  murdered  her  husband  and  that  she 
must  make  many  sacrifices  and  do  penance  in  order  to 
appease  the  gods.  However  young  and  beautiful  a 
widow  may  be,  a  new  union  is  altogether  impossible, 
as  the  invincible  custom  of  the  country  forbids  it. 

As  soon  as  the  husband  dies,  the  female  relatives  of 
the  widow  cut  the  thread  by  which  is  suspended  about 
her  neck,  the  Tahly,  the  little  gold  ornament  which  all 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

Indian  wives  wear  as  a  symbol  of  marriage.  Her  head 
is  then  shaved  and  her  pretty  bright  garments  taken  from 
her  and  a  plain  white  cotton  robe  substituted.  She  may 
not  attend  any  festival  or  rejoicing  of  any  description. 
While  all  of  them  are  despised  as  outcasts,  those  without 
cnildren  are  especially  objects  of  derision  and  hatred. 
One  wonders  if  of  the  two  evils,  the  suttee  practice, 
forbidden  by  the  government  twenty  years  ago,  were 
not  more  humane  than  the  present  system  of  social 
ostracism.  At  suttee  the  widow  threw  herself  on  her 
husband's  funeral  pyre  and  was  soon  reduced  to  ashes. 
Now  she  must  die  a  slow  death  hounded  by  humiliation 
and  despair. 


Towers  of  Silence 

The  Parsees  of  Bombay  who  are  a  wealthy  high 
caste  class  of  Indians,  have  a  peculiar  way  of  disposing 
of  their  dead.  They  have  such  a  veneration  for  the  ele- 
ments that  they  do  not  wish  to  defile  them  with  dead 
bodies,  so  have  erected  stone  towers,  cylindrical  in  shape 
and  about  thirty  feet  high,  in  niches  of  which  they  place 
their  dead  and  allow  the  vultures  to  eat  the  bodies. 
They  think  fire  is  too  sacred  to  be  used  for  burning  the 
dead  and  earth  and  water  are  equally  respected,  so  in 
crder  not  to  pollute  these  elements  they  invented  this 
singular  method. 

Everything  possible  has  been  done  to  rob  this  char- 
nel  house  of  an  aspect  of  grewsome  uses.  The  garden 
about  the  towers  is  a  beautiful  park  and  the  House  of 
Prayer  where  the  body  is  taken  for  religious  rites  be- 
fore its  final  disposition,  is  as  restful  as  our  houses  of 
worship.  Yet  when  one  visits  the  place  and  sees  the 
huge  black  birds  of  prey,  perched  about  on  the  towers 
waiting,  waiting,  it  is  blood  curdling.  It  is  said  that 

127 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

after  a  body  has  been  slipped  into  one  of  the  niches  only 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  elapses  before  the  flesh  is 
stripped  from  the  bones.  The  bones  are  left  to  bleach 
and  dry,  tiien  are  swept  oft  into  a  huge  tank  beneath 
the  Towers  where  they  crumble  into  dust.  The  rains 
carry  off  the  dust  through  drains  made  for  that  purpose, 
so  that  every  particle  of  the  dead  body  is  absorbed 
either  by  the  vulture  route  or  by  filtration  into  the 
earth.  About  four  bodies  a  day  are  disposed  of  in  this 
manner. 


Hallucinations 

The  sun  in  India  has  a  curious  effect  on  people.  Na- 
tives swathe  the  head  in  heavy  folds  of  cloth,  and  the 
whites  all  wear  the  cork  topi  which  prevents  sunstroke. 
It  is  said  a  white  person  could  not  endure  the  direct  rays 
of  the  sun  on  his  uncovered  head  three  minutes  without 
suffering  a  sunstroke  or  a  fever. 

The  sun  intoxicates  some  and  causes  others  to  ho'd 
the  fear  of  being  poisoned  by  the  natives.  One  army 
man  I  read  of  fancied  himself  a  duck  and  occasionally 
would  cry  quack!  quack! 

Another  army  man  fancied  he  was  a  shilling  and 
talked  about  it  to  his  wife  so  much  that  she,  in  her  dis- 
tress, went  to  the  colonel  of  the  regiment  about  it. 
"Thinks  he  is  a  shilling,  does  he?"  said  the  colonel,  with 
ft  chuckle.  "Then  why  don't  you  change  him?" 

The  natives  seem  to  thrive  in  the  heat  if  only  the 
head  is  covered.  They  lie  in  the  strong  sunlight,  some 
aimost  naked,  others  in  heavy  wraps.  In  one  settle- 
rient  we  saw  every  mode  of  Indian  dress  from  the  white 
linen  of  the  hot  south  to  the  heavy  goatskin  of  the 
eternal  snows,  all  reduced  to  a  harmonious  whole  by  the 
neutral  tint  of  universal  dirt  and  all  grovelling  in  the 
rays  of  their  adored  sun-god. 

128 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 
Missions 

Murray  says,  "The  spread  of  Christianity  in  India 
is  a  matter  of  deep  interest  to  everyone.  Reports  show 
a  remarkable  increase  of  native  Christians  during  the 
last  decade.  In  Southern  India  the  increase  was  19  per 
cent." 

Of  converts  the  Roman  Catholics  have  the  greatest 
number.  Of  the  Protestants  there  are  converts  to  nu- 
merous faiths,  Baptists,  Methodists,  English  Episcopal, 
Lutheran  and  others.  Whatever  may  be  individual  opin- 
ions regarding  the  work  or  results  of  proselyting  in 
India,  the  value  of  the  work  done  in  mission  colleges  and 
schools  and  hospitals  is  immense,  and  is  becoming  very 
far-reaching  in  its  effects. 

A  note  which  might  have  a  double  meaning  is  en- 
tered in  a  certain  church  register  in  India.  A  native 
convert  wishing  to  dohonor  to  a  Christian  missionary  who 
was  killed  by  his  servant,  took  the  register  and  wrote 
with  a  sigh,  in  the  simplicity  of  his  heart: 

"Isidor  Loewenthal,  missionary  of  the  Presbyterian 
mission.  Shot  by  his  own  chowkidar  (servant).  Well 
done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant!" 


Goodby  to  India 


"These  are  they  which  came  out  of  great  tribulation," 
may  well  be  applied  to  four  California  women  and  a 
brown,  native  servant,  after  a  four  weeks'  tour  of  India. 

India  Is  marvelous,  filthy,  fascinating,  smelly,  wonder- 
ful, weird,  speckled  over  with  oriental  pessimism  and 
mysticism,  and  no  traveler  should  leave  it  off  his  itiner- 
ary. It  is  a  veritable  Pandora's  box  for  the  antiquarian, 
the  historian,  the  artist,  the  sculptor,  the  student  of 
humanity,  the  theologian,  the  sociologist  and  the  ordinary 

129 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

globe  trotter  who  seeks  strange  things.  The  many  physi- 
cal discomforts  which  I  have  enlarged  upon  in  previous 
letters  are  more  than  overbalanced  by  the  mental  stimu- 
lation one  receives.  The  best  things  of  this  life  come 
oiily  after  great  effort  and  we  must  take  the  bitter  with 
the  sweet. 

A  young  Englishman  was  helping  us  with  our  hur- 
ried packing  one  day.  Turning  to  the  Club  Woman  he 
said,  "And  you  say  you  have  a  comfortable  home  in  the 
states?"  "Yes,"  replied  the  Club  Woman.  "Well,  why 
don't  you  go  home  and  enjoy  it?"  said  he.  "You  Ameri- 
cans endure  more  privations  and  discomforts  for  the 
sake  of  sightseeing,  than  the  people  of  any  other  na- 
tion." Travel  in  India  is  as  Josiah  Allen's  wife  said,  a 
pleasure  exertion. 

I  think  I  could  have  endured  the  frightful  extremes 
of  heat  and  cold,  the  filth  and  stench,  the  hard  beds 
and  poor  food,  with  better  grace  if  only  I  had  been 
vouchsafed  water — plain,  ordinary  water  like  that  which 
comes,  so  abundantly,  from  my  kitchen  sink.  I  know 
now  why  camels  can  go  for  so  long  without  water,  there's 
none  in  India  but  the  fizzy  marble  dust  sort  and  the 
camel,  wise  old  beast  that  he  is,  refuses  that. 

I  have  drunk  "charged"  water  until  I  feel  like  a 
seething  volcano  that  may  burst  its  bonds  at  any  mo- 
ment. I  have  heard  that  one  can  dig  one's  grave  with 
one's  teeth.  I  can  claim  a  greater  distinction.  I  am 
erecting  with  my  throat,  a  tall,  white  marble  grave  stone 
that  I  feel  sure  will  soon  be  all  that  is  left  of  me. 


130 


CEYLON 


Rough  Passage 


To  reach  the  Island  of  Ceylon  from  the  Indian  Penin- 
sula, one  must  cross  a  very  turbulent  channel  in  the 
Indian  Ocean,  called  the  Gulf  of  Manar.  The  voyage 
takes  twelve  hours  and  it  is  fraught  with  all  the  misery 
that  sea  sickness  entails.  It  is  needless  to  waste  words 
on  sea  sickness — besides  no  one  could  do  the  subject  jus- 
tice. But  the  suffering  is  nothing  compared  to  the  dis- 
appointment, the  humiliation,  the  voyager  feels  in  mak- 
ing such  an  entry  into  the  scene  of  Milton's  "Araby  The 
Blest." 

The  very  name,  Ceylon,  celebrated  in  hymn  and 
song  and  story,  conjures  up  visions  of  drifting  out  on 
a  sparkling,  sunlit  sea,  gently  wafted  by  scented  breezes, 
tenderly  rocked  by  lapping  waves  and,  ultimately,  drop- 
ping anchor  on  a  golden  strand  as  beautiful  as  St.  John's 
vision  of  the  streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 

The  cold,  brutal  truth  is,  one  boards  a  small  chan- 
nel vessel  for  an  all  night  ride  and  finds  berths  so  hard 
that  a  board  is  soft  in  comparison.  The  atmosphere  is 
hot  and  humid  and  the  small  red  ants  that  infest  the 
boat  crawls,  in  tantalizing  trains,  over  perspiring  mortals. 
This  is  one  affliction  that,  mercifully,  was  spared  Job 
and  surely  Dante  never  heard  of  it,  else  it  would  have 
been  immortalized  in  the  Inferno. 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

The  choppy,  spitful  sea  twists  the  boat  first  this  way, 
then  that,  the  sullen,  lowering  sky  frowns,  the  wind  sings 
a  mournful  dirge  in  the  rigging  and  all  nature  seems  to 
have  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  make  miserable  the 
intrepid  traveler. 

I  sat  out  on  deck  as  we  neared  the  island  and  tried 
my  level  best  to  fancy  I  was  inhaling  "the  spicy  breezes 
that  waft  o'er  Ceylon's  isle,"  but  my  nostrils  were  as- 
sailed, only,  by  the  tang  of  roilly  salt  water  and  the  odor 
of  a  strong  cigarette  a  man  next  to  me  was  smoking.  I 
could  1'or  the  first  time  in  my  life  appreciate  the  disap- 
pointmc  nt  and  chagrin  a  young  boy  feels  when  he  learns 
the  true  identity  of  Santa  Glaus,  or  is  told  that  rabbits 
do  not  lay  Easter  eggs. 


Beautiful  Verdure 

Approaching  Ceylon,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  the 
oval  of  the  island  is  a  mass  of  vivid  green.  The  ragged 
foliage  of  the  cocoanut  palm  towers  above  the  other 
verdure,  looking  as  Mark  Twain  so  graphically  describes 
"like  a  feather  duster  that  has  been  struck  by  lightning." 

Colombo,  the  chief  city  of  Ceylon,  has  a  population  of 
175,000.  It  has  an  excellent  harbor  with  a  magnificent 
breakwater  nearly  a  mile  long.  Beyond  the  harbor  the 
deep  red  of  Colombo's  buildings  and  the  vivid  red  of  the 
gravelled  roads  make  an  harmonious  note  of  color 
against  the  green  background  of  verdure.  Ceylon  may 
justly  claim  to  be  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  interest- 
jng  islands  in  the  world.  It  is  noteworthy  above  every- 
thing for  its  beautiful  flora.  All  the  towns  are  tropical 
gardens  where  the  buildings  are  hidden  behind  rare 
trees  and  plants. 

Ceylon,  like  nearly  every  other  country  in  this  east- 
ern world,  is  an  English  possession.  It  Is  a  crown  col- 

132 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

ony  with  a  governor  in  charge.  Not  many  English  live 
on  the  island  however.  Like  India,  Ceylon's  population 
offers  a  variety  of  races,  color  and  costumes.  One  may 
find  there  beside  the  native  Cingalese,  Arabs,  Tamils, 
Parsees,  Kaffirs,  Afghans  and  other  races. 

The  variety  of  costume  worn  by  each  race  in  accord- 
ance with  caste  or  social  position,  from  the  simple  loin 
cloth  of  the  coolie  to  the  gorgeous  attire  of  the  wealthy 
and  high  caste  gentleman,  the  different  complexions  and 
modes  of  hair  dressing,  the  avocations  carried  on  in  the 
open  street  are  all  entertaining  to  the  visitor  even  though 
he  has  viewed  native  life  in  various  parts  of  the  Orient. 

The  Cingalese  man  of  burnt  sienna  complexion,  wears 
his  long  hair  twisted  in  a  coil  at  the  back  of  his  head 
and,  what  strikes  the  stranger  from  the  West  as  being 
peculiar  and  extraordinary,  he  wears  on  top  of  his  head 
a  horseshoe  shaped  tortoise  shell  comb.  The 
waiters  in  our  hotel  all  wore  these  combs  and  it  is 
said  that  it  is  the  great  ambition  of  a  man  of  humble  posi- 
tion to  possess  and  wear  a  .con.b  of  finer  lustre  than  his 
neighbor.  The  Cingalese  women  do  not  wear  combs, 
but  instead  thrust  a  silver  or  gold  jewelled  pin  through 
the  coil  of  black  hair.  I  supposed  I  had  seen  in  Malay, 
Burmah  and  India,  China  and  Japan,  every  style  of 
oriental  dress,  but  Ceylon  styles  are  different.  The  wom- 
en wear  above  the  sayrong  that  confines  the  lower  limbs, 
a  white  close  fitting  "basque"  outlining  the  unstayed  fig- 
ure. The  feminine  reader  will  remember  the  basque  of 
twenty  years  ago  with  its  peplum  around  the  lower  edge. 
The  basque  of  the  Cinga'ese  women  is  cut  low  over 
the  bust  and  the  neck  is  outlined  with  the  native  hand- 
made lace.  The  peplum  is  edged  with  the  same  lace 
and  the  sleeves  are  short  and  of  the  "flowing"  variety. 
The  Cingalese,  like  the  Indians,  wear  a  lot  of  jewelry, 
particularly  about  the  neck  and  ankles. 

Ceylon,  a  green  oasis  in  an  ocean  desert,  lies  less 

133 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

than  six  degrees  from  the  equator,  and  consequently,  is 
very  hot  and  humid.  The  small  boy's  definition  in  his 
school  essay,  "The  weather  is  a  thing  you  talk  about 
when  you  haven't  anything  else  to  say,"  does  not  fit  this 
case,  for  one  could  fill  columns  or  volumes  about  the 
many  things  of  beauty  and  interest  in  the  island.  Still, 
the  beauty  and  charm  of  it  does  not  change  climatic 
conditions  and  I  found  myself  many  times  during  my 
stay  there,  wishing  as  Sydney  Smith  did  that  "I  might 
strip  off  my  flesh  and  sit  in  my  bones." 

Apropos  of  the  weather,  I  heard  a  story  of  an  Ameri- 
can visiting  in  Ceylon  who  complained  bitterly  of  the 
heat.  In  the  presence  of  an  English  woman,  one  day, 
he  said,  disgustedly,  "Colombo  is  as  hot  as  Hades." 
Quick  as  a  flash  the  woman  said  to  the  group  about  her, 
"My,  how  these  Americans  travel!" 

On  account  of  the  intense  heat  the  houses  are  con- 
structed with  over-hanging  eves  to  exclude  the  sun's 
rays.  At  our  hotel  each  room  had  a  balcony  screened 
with  bamboo  and  cooled  with  lazily  waving  punkahs. 
There  were  no  screens  in  the  windows  but  the  beds  were 
swathed  in  a  heavy  netting  to  exclude  mosquitos.  There 
are  thousands  of  crows  in  Colombo  and  one  may  expect 
a  visit  from  one  of  more  of  them  at  any  time.  They 
hop  in  at  the  open  windows  and  pick  up  any  bright  ob- 
ject and  fly  off  with  it.  One  gentleman  at  our  hotel 
had  a  scarf  pin  and  a  pair  of  scissors  purloined  by  a 
pilfering  crow.  Another  person  complained  that  one  of 
the  black  thieves  came  in  and  stole  her  early  morning 
toast  from  the  tray  at  her  bedside. 


134 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 
Industries 

The  extensive  output  of  precious  stones  for  which 
Ceylon  has  been  famous  from  earliest  times  gives  em- 
ployment to  many  natives  who  cut  and  polish  them.  The 
island  yields  an  abundance  of  sapphires,  rubies,  cats 
eyes,  moonstones,  amethysts  and  garnets.  It  is  said 
they  may  be  purchased  for  less  than  half  what  they  cost 
in  the  United  States. 

Basket  weaving  is  an  industry  in  Ceylon  that  is  car- 
ried on  chiefly  by  native  girls.  The  baskets  are  made 
of  the  fronds  of  the  Basket  Tree  palm.  Thin  fibres  are 
stripped  from  the  fern  fronds  and  are  dyed  witti  veg- 
etpble  dyes  brilliant  orange,  red  and  black.  They  are 
then  woven  by  hand  into  various  shaped  baskets  and 
are  very  attractive. 

Tea  planting  and  growing  is  carried  on  extensively  in 
Ceylon  and  there  are  many  splendid  tea  estates  in  the 
foothills,  owned  by  Europeans.  It  is  interesting  to  see 
both  the  plant  itself  growing  and  the  process  by  which 
it  is  prepared  for  market. 

If  left  to  nature  the  tea  plant  will  grow  to  the  height 
of  about  twenty  feet  with  a  circumference  in  proportion, 
but  the  art  of  the  planter  keeps  it  down  to  about  three 
feet,  by  constant  pruning.  The  new  shoots  that  are  con- 
stantly forming  produce  the  valuable  leaves  of  commerce. 
The  plucking  is  done  chiefly  by  girls  and  women.  They 
have  a  basket  on  the  shoulders,  holding  about  14  pounds 
vhen  full,  suspended  from  the  head  by  ropes.  Into  this 
they  deposit  the  first  three  leaves  of  the  new  shoots. 
These  tender  young  leaves  are  dried  on  trays  where 
they  partly  ferment.  They  are  then  rolled  in  semi-hot 
condition  by  a  huge  rotary  roller.  After  this  they  are 
again  dried  by  artificial  heat  and  finally  are  passed 
through  a  sieve  containing  holes  of  three  sizes.  The 
smallest  leaf  at  the  top  of  the  shoot,  the  second  and 

135 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

third  are  thus  sorted  and  separated.  The  small  leaves 
form  the  finest  and  best  tea. 

After  a  year  or  two  of  plucking  the  tea  plant  naturally 
loses  the  vitality  requisite  to  send  forth  an  abundance 
of  new  shoots.  It  is  then  pruned  back  to  such  an  extent 
that  it  looks  hopelessly  ruined,  but  after  a  few  weeks 
rest  it  bursts  forth  with  renewed  vigor  and  soon  is  ready 
lor  renewed  plucking.  The  tea  pluckers  earn  fourpence 
a  day,  working  from  six  in  tne  morning  until  four  in  the 
afternoon. 

A  unique  feature  of  the  native  quarter  of  Colombo 
iy  the  stall  or  small  shop  where  betel  is  sold. 

Betel  leaves  take  the  place  of  tobacco  for  chewing 
purposes,  in  the  Par  East.  A  nut  of  the  areca  tree  is 
rolled  and  twisted  into  a  leaf  of  the  betel  tree  and 
it  is  then  sold  to  the  native,  men,  women  and  children, 
vho  chew  assiduously  from  morning  until  night. 

The  areca  nut  is  sliced  in  tiny  slivers,  a  bit  of  lime 
made  from  sea  shell  or  coral  is  added,  and  the  whole 
•wrapped,  tidily,  in  the  succulent  betel.  Chewing  this 
concoction  is  said  to  have  a  soothing  effect.  It  certain- 
ly produces  a  feeling  of  disgust  in  the  observer,  for  the 
betel  colors  the  lips  and  mouth  a  vivid  red  and  the 
teeth  are  soon  hopelessly  blackened. 


Kandy 


At  last  I  have  inhaled  the  "spicy  breezes  that  waft 
o'er  Ceylon  Isle!"  Poetic  license  permits  a  rhymster  a 
wide  range  of  expression,  but  really  between  you  and 
me,  don't  you  think  he  should  be  compelled  to  be  exact 
in  locating  smells,  etc?  I  do.  Kipling  threw  me  off 
the  scent,  as  it  were,  several  times,  about  India,  and 
then  Watts,  or  was  it  Isaac  Watts,  who  wrote  the  hymn 
atout  Ceylon?  Anywav,  the  composer  of  the  hymn  was 
not  definite  enough.  He  should  have  stated  explicitly, 

136 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

if  not  in  the  poem,  in  a  footnote,  that  the  scented  breezes 
began  at  Kandy. 

Oh,  those  spicy  odors!  I  can  close  my  eyes  and  in- 
hale them  now  and  think  of  "sugar  and  spice  and  every- 
thing nice." 

Kandy  is  the  seat  of  government  of  Ceylon  and  lies 
ou  the  mountain  side  about  seventy-five  miles  from  the 
sea.  We  left  Colombo  in  the  early  morning  for  the  four 
hours'  ride  up  the  mountain.  Almost  immediately  my 
nostrils  were  pleasantly  aware  of  an  aromatic  odor.  In- 
vestigating it,  we  were  told  that  the  engines  pulling  the 
trains  in  Ceylon,  burn  the  wood  of  cinnamon  and  spice 
trees  and  the  fragrant  smoke  pervades  the  atmosphere. 
As  we  progressed  and  entered  forests  where  grew  the 
nutmeg  and  frangipani,  the  clove  and  cinnamon  tre< 
the  all-pervading  scent  of  everything  aromatic  was  al- 
most overpowering.  I  felt  like  apologizing  to  Mother 
Nature  for  being  cross  about  Colombo. 

For  two  hours  the  train  keeps  on  a  level,  passing 
tl  rough  dense  jungles  where  wild  elephants  roam,  past 
marsh  and  rice  fields.  Then  we  began  to  ascend,  climbing 
by  many  zig-zags  the  precipitous  side  of  the  mountain. 

At  every  turn  fresh  and  more  beautiful  views  opened 
out  before  us.  The  variety  of  vegetation  is  extraordi- 
nary. Every  tree  seems  to  have  a  neighbor  of  a  dif- 
ferent species,  and  all  festooned  with  creepers  and  para- 
sites. In  the  cleared  spaces,  the  tea  estates,  prim  and 
clean  as  a  New  England  kitchen,  hugged  the  mountain 
side.  Through  a  gap  in  the  range  we  looked  away  to  a 
far-away  sea  ot  low  broken  hills  with  the  misty  plain 
beyond. 

As  the  train  climbs  further  up  the  grade,  the  culti- 
vation increases  in  variety.  There  are  rubber  planta- 
t'ons,  cocoanut  groves  and  cinnamon  reserves.  Here  and 
there  the  traveler  is  fascinated  by  a  glimpse  of  prim- 
itive native  villages  peeping  out  beneath  the  shade  of 
magnificent  palms.  Many  mud  huts  nestle  under  the 

137 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

branches  of  the  giant  rhododendron  which  grows  to  a 
height  of  sixty  feet,  and  which  sheds  its  leaves  when 
the  magnificent  red  blossoms  appear.  The  starry  white 
jasmine,  the  sacred  flower  of  the  Buddhists,  is  every- 
where in  evidence,  gleaming  in  chaste  purity,  in  the  most 
squalid  environment. 

Kandy  is  incomparably  beautiful.  The  town  is 
situated  in  a  basin  fashioned  by  the  surrounding  hills. 

There  is  an  artificial  lake  in  the  center  of  the  town, 
\vhich  is  bordered  with  a  wealth  of  tropical  trees  and 
flowers.  High  on  the  mountain  side  facing  the  lake  is 
the  pavilion  of  the  last  king  of  Kandy,  and  near  it  is  the 
temple  where  the  tooth  of  Buddha  is  kept.  This  Temple 
or'  the  Tooth  makes  Kandy  a  Mecca  for  the  millions  of 
Buddhists  of  the  world.  The  devout  believe  that  in  the 
temple  is  enshrined  one  of  the  eyeteeth  of  the  great 
teacher,  rescued  from  his  funeral  pyre  five  hundred  years 
before  Christ  was  born  in  Bethlehem.  It  is  said  the 
tooth  was  brought  to  Kandy  concealed  in  the  hair  of  a 
princess.  It  is  carefully  preserved  and  jealously  guard- 
ed and  no  one  may  see  it,  for  it  reposes  on  a  lotus  flower 
of  pure  gold  hidden  under  seven  bell-shaped  shrines,  each 
one  tightly  sealed.  Once  a  year  a  procession  of  the  tooth 
is  held  and  at  that  time  many  thousand  Buddhists  make 
a  pilgrimage  to  Kandy  to  make  their  adorations. 

Luckily,  I  managed  to  be  there  at  the  time  the  adored 
relic,  or  the  receptacle  in  which  it  is  kept,  was  exposed. 
The  procession  was  enlivened  by  the  prsence  of  sixty 
gaily  caparisoned  sacred  elephants,  on  the  back  of  one  of 
v/hich  was  the  tooth.  Many  priests  with  shaven  heads 
and  gowned  in  brilliant  orange  robes,  walked  in  line, 
their  devout  followers  holding  jewelled  umbrellas  over 
them  to  protect  the  sacred  heads  from  the  sun's  rays. 

In  line  also  were  the  chiefs,  descendants  of  the  old 
Kandian  kings.  They  are  handsome  men  and  in  their 
beautiful  court  dress  were  imposing.  They  were  attired 

138 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

hi  yards  and  yards  of  white  silK  embroidered  in  gold, 
wound  about  the  hips  and  lower  limbs,  ending  in  neat 
little  frills  at  the  ankles.  A  jacket  of  brocaded  silk 
of  brightest  hues  was  worn  over  a  white  shirt  fastened 
with  magnificent  jewelled  buttons.  A  jewelled  belt  and 
a  gem-studded  tri-cornered  hat  completed  the  costume. 

At  intervals  the  parade  would  rest  to  allow  the 
Nautch  girls  a  chance  to  dance  before  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Teck,  who  were  interested  observers  of  the 
festivities.  The  dance  is  a  disgusting  snake-like  writhing 
ot  the  body,  the  contortions  making  one  think  of  the 
antics  of  a  cobra  when  it  is  swaying  to  the  tune  of  the 
juggler's  flute. 

The  dancers  were  clothed  mainly  in  beads  and  jew- 
elry. The  super-abundance  of  jewelled  bands  on  arms 
and  ankles,  head,  breast  and  waist  looked  burdensome. 
The  network  of  beads  woven  in  intricate  patterns,  fol- 
lowed the  lines  of  the  lithe  brown  body,  clothing  it  like 
the  glistening  skin  of  a  serpent. 

Buddha  not  only  cut  his  eyeteeth  in  Ceylon,  he  also 
left  a  footprint  on  Mt.  Adam,  a  high  mountain  peak. 
Strange  to  say,  this  footprint  is  claimed  by  others  than 
Buddhists.  The  Hindus  claim  that  it  is  that  of  Siva, 
one  of  their  gods,  while  the  Mohammedans  say  that  it 
is  the  print  of  Adam's  foot.  That  when  Adam  was  ex- 
pelled from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  he  was  sent  to  the 
island  of  Ceylon  because  it  possessed  the  nearest  ap- 
proach to  the  beauties  of  the  home  from  which  he  was 
exiled. 

There  is  at  Kandy  a  sacred  Bo  tree  said  to  have  been 
planted  250  years  before  Christ.  The  reason  it  is  held 
sacred  is  because  the  Buddhists  believe  that  it  is  an  off- 
shoot of  the  orignal  tree  under  which  Buddha  sat  and 
meditated  six  years  in  the  wilderness. 

It  is  carefully  guarded,  the  caretakers  never  hav- 
ing left  it  one  moment  since  it  was  a  seedling. 

139 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 
Buddhism 

Buddha,  the  founder  of  the  Buddhist  religion,  was 
opposed  to  caste,  holding  that  all  men  are  equal.  The 
IPW  or  doctrine  is  reverence,  self  control,  kindness  to  all 
men  and  a  recognition  of  the  sanctity  of  all  life. 

Guatama  Buddha  was  born  500  years  before  Christ. 
He  married  and  at  the  birth  of  a  son  retired  into  a  jun- 
gle, fearing  lest  the  new  tie  should  bind  him  too  closely 
to  things  of  earth.  He  was  at  that  time  30  years  of 
age.  He  remained  six  years  in  retirement,  and  through 
privations  and  meditation,  lound  enlightenment.  Then 
ne  came  out  and  began  preaching. 

Buddhism  is  a  religion  of  singular  simplicity.  It 
teaches  that  all  life  is  sad  but  that  its  sadness  depends 
on  the  individual  and  not  his  surroundings.  He  must 
work  out  his  own  happiness  unaided.  He  can  attain 
Nirvana  if  he  is  persistent  in  his  striving,  and  there  he 
will  find  peace.  It  is  a  religion  of  faith  and  works.  It 
recognizes  neither  rites  nor  ordinances,  but  holds  that 
one's  future  depends  upon  one's  self. 
*  *  * 

Tn  a  Word 

To  sum  it  all  up  in  a  few  words,  Ceylon  has  a  past, 
and,  unlike  many  another  past  the  reader  may  have 
heard  of,  it  may  be  told  to  both  old  and  young.  The  child 
will  be  glad  to  hear  that  the  island  was  the  scene  of 
Sinbad's  adventures;  the  Bible  student  will  be  interested 
to  learn  that  Ceylon  is  the  country  mentioned  in  the 
trnth  chapter  of  First  Kings,  where  Solomon's  ships 
went  to  get  "gold  and  silver,  ivory  and  apes  and  pea- 
cocks;" the  antiquarian  would  love  to  roam  Ceylon's  hills 
because  it  is  the  cradle  of  antiquity  and  all  who  have  a 
sweet  tooth  should  join  the  Kandy  Kids.  They  are  all 
little  brown  chocolate  drops. 

140 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


HISTORIC  WATERS 


Christmas  at  Sea 


It  was  a  heavy  heart  I  carried  up  the  gangway  of 
the  steamer  Bremen,  at  Colombo,  on  December  24.  The 
day  before  Christmas  and  I,  alone,  ten  thousand  miles 
from  home!  The  birthday  of  a  King,  on  the  morrow, 
and  not  one  friend  to  rejoice  with  me  over  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  supreme  event  in  the  world's  history. 

I  hurried  to  my  cabin,  fairly  loathing  the  pink  cheeked 
German  officers  who  greeted  me  so  cordially.  I  felt 
abused,  lonely,  heartsick.  Like  the  old  colored  aunty 
"I  jes  nacherly  wanted  to  triberlate."  I  locked  my 
door  and  meant  to  give  myself  over  to  gloomy  thoughts 
and,  possibly,  tears.  The  faces  of  dear  ones  spending 
Christmas  together,  somewhere  across  broad  seas, 
blurred  my  vision,  but  through  the  mist  of  tears  I  be- 
came conscious  of  the  Yuletide  decorations  in  my  room. 
Of  the  bits  of  green  tucked  away  here  and  there,  and 
the  gay  little  red  bell  swaying  in  the  port  hole.  It 
seemed  to  say  "Peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  men,"  and 
it  was  borne  in  on  me  suddenly  that  His  paths  are  in 
the  sea  as  well  as  on  land;  that  the  Spirit  of  Christmas 
which  is  love  and  God  is  Love,  knows  not  distance,  but 
reaches  all  far  and  near. 

I  opened  my  steamer  letters  marked  for  Christmas 
and  found  words  so  genuine — so  full  of  good  cheer,  that 
tbe  loved  voices  so  far  away,  all  but  sounded  in  my  ears. 
I  felt  the  warm  hand-clasp  that  reached  out  to  me  over 

141 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

vast  distances  and  a  tiny  message  from  a  little  maid  and 
a  wee,  small  lad,  who  live  near  the  sparkling  blue  Pa- 
cific, comforted  me  immeasurably.  The  simple  faith 
which  is  in  the  heart  of  a  child  came  to  me  and  I  felt 
as  never  before  the  presence  of  the  Christchild. 

When  I  went  to  dinner  that  evening,  a  splendid 
Christmas  tree  met  my  vision.  It  occupied  the  center 
ci  the  dining  saloon  and  reached  quite  to  the  ceiling.  It 
was  brave  with  tinsel  and  twinkling  lights,  with  jingling 
ornaments  and  brilliant  toys. 

Just  as  the  300  passengers  were  seated  all  the  lights 
were  extinguished  except  those  on  the  tree,  and  then  as 
we  sat  breathless  in  the  semi-darkness,  the  orchestra 
concealed  in  the  balcony  over  the  room,  played  softly 
"Still  as  the  Night."  It  was  thrilling  and  the  great  room 
full  of  voyagers,  representing  many  nationalities,  gave 
il,  the  "perfect  tribute"  of  absolute  silence. 

Then  the  musicians  sang  a  Christmas  song  in  Ger- 
man and  then  I  remembered  that  I  was  on  a  German 
boat  and  that  jolly  old  Kris  Kringle  lives  in  the  German 
empire  and  has  his  toy  shop  there;  that  our  Christmas 
tvee  and  many  Yuletide  customs  are  learned  from  them, 
and  that  I  could  not  shut  out  the  message  of  Christmas 
if  I  tried  never  so  hard,  so  long  as  there  was  a  German 
about. 

Very  appropriately  the  steward  put  all  of  the  Ameri- 
cans— we  were  seven — at  one  table.  To  my  joy  I  found 
that  two  of  them  were  from  Southern  California.  The 
orchestra  paid  us  the  compliment  of  playing  a  medley  of 
American  airs,  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  "Columbia, 
the  Gem  of  the  Ocean,"  and  "My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee." 
When  the  last  was  played  we  looked  furtively  at  our 
English  cousins  to  see  if  they  would  rise,  and  found 
they  were  looking  just  as  furtively  at  us.  They  did  not 
rise  and  an  Englisn  lady  explained  to  me  later  that  they 
supposed  it  was  the  "American  version,"  since  it  was 
mixed  in  with  American  tunes. 

142 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

There  was  much  hilarity  that  night  of  a  subdued  Sun- 
day sort.  The  popping  of  Christmas  crackers  mingled 
with  the  singing  of  Christmas  hymns.  A  Santa  Claus 
with  a  huge  pack  on  his  back  came  in  and  distributed 
favors. 

The  dinner  served  us  had  the  true  American  flavor 
and  included  in  the  menu  just  what  we  would  have  had 
at  home,  loast  turkey,  cranberry  sauce  and  plum  pud- 
ding. With  the  dessert,  tiny  flags  of  all  nations  rep- 
resented that  night,  were  given  us  and  each  person 
vaved,  in  unison,  the  flags  of  Germany,  England,  Amer- 
ica, France,  Ireland  and  Holland.  Prejudices  were  cast 
aside  and  the  amiability  and  congeniality  of  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  different  nations  indicated  that  the 
peace  conference  at  The  Hague  had  not  been  in  vain. 

We  had  our  coffee  in  the  smoking  room,  as  is  the  cus- 
tom on  German  boats,  and  we  sat  there  until  far  in  the 
night,  some  silent,  busied  with  reminiscences,  others  lo- 
quacious, but  we  all  went  back  along  the  "road  to  yes- 
terday," and  clasped  hands  with  the  spirit  of  our  own 
youth,  and  before  we  said  good  morrow,  we  went  out 
in  the  still,  summer  night  and  looked  up  at  the  stars — 
the  same  kindly  stars  that  shone  above  the  manger  where 
the  Mother  and  Babe  lay. 

*     *     * 

Indian  Ocean 

It  is  an  eleven-days'  voyage  trom  Ceylon  to  Port  Said, 
Egypt,  and  the  voyager  traverses  the  Indian  Ocean,  the 
Arabian  Gulf,  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Suez  Canal. 

The  Indian  Ocean  is  as  much  of  an  enigma  as  our 
American  Indian.  One  is  never  quite  sure  of  it  or  of 
him.  On  our  voyage,  the  sea  was  a  good  Indian,  calm, 
inscrutable,  monotonously  quiet.  The  big  inert  mass  of 
coldly  blue  water  never  so  much  as  rippled  and  the 
zephyrs  that  were  wafted  to  us  from  African  shores 

143 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

were  as  soft  as  a  caress.  But  the  treacherous  Indian 
Ocean,  like  the  Indian  man,  is  vindictive  when  it  wants 
to  be,  and  many  ships  go  down  in  its  furious  gales.  So 
on  the  whole  we  were  glad  to  sail  into  Aden,  Arabia, 
at  the  entrance  to  the  Red  Sea. 

Aden,  a  military  post,  is  the  most  desolate,  barren 
spot  imaginable.  The  mass  of  rock  upon  which  the 
nouses  are  built  is  of  volcanic  origin  and  there  is  not 
soil  enough  to  grow  even  a  tiny  sprig  of  grass.  Not  a 
vestige  of  green  is  there  to  break  the  dead  monotony  of 
gray  rock  and  yellow  sand.  It  is  said  that  rain  has  not 
fallen  there  in  twenty  years.  It  looked  as  if  it  would 
require  twenty  years  of  rain  to  give  the  place  a  thor- 
ough wetting  and  then  the  moisture  could  not  sink  in. 


Red  Sea 

I  thought  the  name  of  the  Red  Sea  a  misnomer,  its 
waters  are  so  darkly,  deeply,  beautifully  blue,  until  I 
arose  one  morning  to  see  the  dawn,  and  then  I  under- 
stood. 

The  whole  surface  of  the  sea  was  as  red  as  though 
the  blood  of  Pharaoh's  host  had  colored  it.  The  heavens, 
too,  were  a  blaze  of  fire,  great  crimson  rays  heralding 
the  approach  of  the  sun  god.  When  the  brilliant,  fiery 
disk  emerged,  suddenly,  from  the  sea,  the  surface  of 
the  water  changed  gradually  from  red  to  amethyst  shades 
and  then  to  sapphire,  with  golden  lights  in  the  white- 
capped  waves.  The  crimson  of  the  sky  gave  way  to  tur- 
quoise, flecked  with  fleecy,  white  clouds,  and  the  sterile 
shore,  unrelieved  by  the  green  of  vegetation,  was  gold- 
enly  yellow.  I  began  to  realize  the  true  meaning  of  the 
expression,  "Oriental  coloring. 

We  are  sailing  into  the  country  from  which  our  pro- 
genitors sprang — where  our  respected  first  father  and 
mother  dallied  in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  I,  probably,  shall 

144 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

behold,  spouting  in  the  distance,  a  lineal  descendant  of 
the  whale  that  swallowed  Jonah,  and  see  the  offshoots 
of  the  bulrushes  that  concealed  the  cradle  of  the  great- 
est lawgiver  the  world  has  ever  known.  Yesterday  we 
passed  the  "Seven  Apostles"  rocks  and  today  saw  dimly 
tbe  outlines  of  Mt.  Sinai,  where  the  tables  of  the  law 
were  written  and  where  "the  sight  of  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  was  like  a  devouring  fire  in  the  eyes  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel." 


Suez  Canal 

"A  blue-green  ribbon  of  water  dropped  in  the  desert 
between  a  marsh  and  a  plain,  stretching  off  for  miles 
from  the  narrow  sand  dune's  border,"  does  not  ade- 
quately describe  the  fascinating  beauty  of  the  Suez 
canal.  Its  beauty  lies  in  its  coloring.  The  narrow  strip 
of  water  connecting  two  seas  is  of  varying  shades  of 
green  and  blue,  bordered  by  the  warm  yellow  sands  of 
the  desert.  In  the  dim,  granite  hills,  there  are  amethyst 
shades  from  the  dark  tints  in  the  shadows,  to  faint- 
est lavender,  near  the  summit.  The  houses  at  the  sta- 
tions which  mark  every  mile,  are  uniformly  yellow  with 
dull  red  roofs,  and  there  are  odd  pink-violet  shades 
shimmering  under  the  infrequent  palms.  Flocks  of  pink 
flamingoes  and  geese  with  brilliant-hued  plumage  fly 
over  the  marshes,  while  gray  gulls  with  wings  tipped 
with  crimson  circle  about  the  boat.  The  sky  is  In- 
tensely blue  and  air  and  water  are  full  of  shifting  color. 

Along  the  sandy  banks  caravans  of  camels  with  their 
Arab  drivers  pass  slowly.  These  caravans  bringing  figs 
and  raisins  to  market  are  very  characteristic.  An  Arab 
boy  rides  on  a  donkey  at  the  head  of  the  procession 
and  the  camels  follow  in  single  file,  bound  together  by  a 
rope.  A  bell  Is  hung  about  the  neck  of  the  last  camel 

145 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

in  the  caravan  so  the  Arab  can  always  tell  whether  or 
not  his  team  is  complete. 

Green  oases  with  minarets  and  stately  buildings  pass 
in  mirage  before  us  as  the  steamer  slowly  passes  along. 
The  scene  is  one  of  such  fascinating  interest  that  the 
lover  of  the  beautiful  in  nature  sits  on  deck  all  day  and 
far  into  the  night. 

There  is  an  enormous  traffic  on  the  canal  and  it 
is  too  narrow  tor  steamers  to  pass  each  other  both  in 
motion,  so  one  steamer  must  tie  up  to  the  bank  while 
the  other  passes.  The  passing  of  a  steamer  is  the  sig- 
nal for  the  passengers  on  both  boats  to  frantically  wave 
and  shout  while  the  bands  try  to  outplay  each  other. 
At  night  the  big  searchlignts  on  the  steamers  play  on 
the  banks,  illuminating  them  a  half-mile  ahead,  and 
then  the  passenger  sees  slinking  jackals  and  foxes  pass- 
ing along  the  radius  of  light.  The  star-lit  sky,  which 
is  unusually  clear  in  the  dry  desert  air,  is  no  less  fas- 
cinating than  the  earth. 

But,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  there  are  a  lot  of  peo- 
ple who  ao  not  enjoy  the  weirdly  beautiful.  If  there's 
a  note  of  gray  in  the  brilliancy  of  a  scene,  the  chromo 
lever  is  bored.  To  some  people  pastels  are  weak — just 
fancy! 

A  young  girl  sitting  near  me  as  the  boat  passed  a 
fascinating  bit  of  golden  desert  sand  dunes  said,  "Well, 
this  is  too  monotonous  for  anything.  I  wish  we  could 
see  some  scenery."  Youth  is  truly"  beautiful,  but  thank  a 
beneficient  providence,  there  are  compensations  in  ma- 
turity and  in  o!d  age  and  so  long  as  life  shall  last.  I 
find  as  we  grow  older  that  the  same  age  glaze  which 
intensifies  the  atmosphere  of  a  picture,  mellows  all  the 
rawness — the  crudities  of  life — and  we  see  things  with 
an  indefinable  charm  impossible  to  the  sharp  eyes  of 
youth. 

146 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 
Militant  Attitude 

It  is  but  a  short  time  ago,  when  it  seemed  to  a  good 
many  intelligent  people  that  nations  had  at  last  made 
up  their  minds  to  "beat  their  sv/ords  into  ploughshares 
and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks."  All  international 
litigation  was  to  be  so'ved  harmoniously  at  the  peace 
conference  at  The  Hague  and  the  Palace  of  Peace  was 
to  supplement  the  Temple  of  Janus.  That,  alas,  has 
proved  a  vain  dream,  for  this  year  of  our  grace,  1911, 
has  witnessed  the  sweeping  aside  of  conciliatory  settle- 
ment. 

China  is  still  in  the  throes  of  revolution  and  the  Mo- 
rocco affair  and  the  Italy-Turko  war  have  proven  serious 
things.  As  we  sailed  through  the  Red  Sea  we  had  to 
go  at  a  snail's  pace  at  night,  because,  forsooth,  on 
the  Turkish  side  of  the  sea,  the  lights  in  the  light- 
houses were  all  extinguished  because  they  did  not  want 
to  help  an  Italian  boat  to  find  its  way  about. 

Now  we  cannot  visit  Algiers  and  Tunis  because  it 
is  not  safe,  and  if  we  choose  to  call  at  Constantinople 
we  may  meet  many  obstacles.  1  quite  agree  with  Gen- 
eral Sherman  in  nis  definition  of  war. 


147 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


EGYPT 


Indefinable  Charm 

No  single  word  awakens  in  the  traveler  so  intense 
an  interest  as  Egypt.  It  stirs  the  most  sluggish  im- 
agination and  conjures  up  before  the  mind's  eye,  visions 
of  yellow  desert  sands,  waving  feathery  palms,  purple 
shimmering  atmosphere,  gigantic  piles  of  stones  which 
have  resisted  the  ravages  of  time,  the  majestic  Nile 
upon  whose  bosom  float  white  sailed  dahabeahs,  the  mys- 
terious sphinx,  graceful  mosques,  imposing  pyramids 
and  obelisks,  fantastic  tombs  in  which  repose  mummies, 
covered  with  gold  and  jewels.  Other  places  have  their 
charm,  but  where  may  we  find  such  a  varied  array  of 
interesting  things? 

Egypt  has  a  charm  which  one  cannot  analyze,  simply 
accepts.  It  may  be  its  mystery — its  elusiveness,  that 
stimulates  the  interest;  it  may  be  the  vision  of  narrow 
streets  with  the  close-barred  windows  of  mysterious 
harems;  it  may  be  the  atmosphere  impregnated  with 
the  history  of  a  great  and  powerful  people;  whatever  it 
is,  a  trip  through  the  Nile  country  is  something  to  re- 
member throughout  the  life  of  the  traveler  fortunate 
enough  to  make  it. 

Herodotus  said  of  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs :  "It  con- 
tains more  wonders  than  any  other  land,  and  is  pre-emi- 
nent above  all  countries  in  the  world  for  works  that  one 
hardly  can  describe." 

148 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

Cairo 

Cairo  is  the  meeting  place  for  the  fashionables  of 
the  world  and  Shepheard's  hotel  is  the  rendezvous  for  the 
idle  rich.  One  could  fancy  one's  self  in  a  splendid 
American  or  European  hostelry,  so"  modern  is  this  hotel, 
if  it  were  not  for  the  oriental  attire  of  the  servitors.  But 
outside,  in  the  streets  of  the  Egyptian  capital,  one  rubs 
shoulders  with  Bedouins  from  the  desert,  swarthy  Su- 
danese from  the  south,  Arabs  brilliantly  dishevelled, 
with  pistols  and  dirks  in  belt,  mysteriously  veiled  women, 
half  naked  beggars  whining  for  backsheesh  in  monotonous 
intonation,  and  the  thousand  and  one  strange  features  of 
an  Oriental  city.  Cairo  may  well  be  called  the  City  of 
Alladin,  and  one  feels  in  viewing  it  that  he  is  turning 
the  pages  of  the  Arabian  Nights. 

The  bazaars  of  Cairo  hold  a  fascination  for  the  tourist 
of  every  country.  The  streets  are  so  narrow  in  places 
that  no  vehicle  can  traverse  them,  so  the  shopper  must 
descend  from  his  carriage  at  the  entrance  to  the  native 
quarter  and  thread  his  way  through  the  devious  paths 
accompanied  by  the  inevitable  dragoman.  A  tourist  must 
always  be  accompanied  by  a  dragoman  in  Egypt,  even 
it"  only  going  shopping.  The  boy  acts  as  interpreter, 
keeps  beggars  away  and  in  many  ways  makes  himself 
useful. 

The  tiny  stalls  in  the  native  business  quarter  are 
1  right  with  oriental  coloring  and  the  tradesmen  and  na- 
t've  purchasers  are  resplendent  in  gaudy  turbans  and 
flashing  jewels. 

There  are  the  booths  of  the  shoemakers,  where  the 
pretty  red  Turkish  slippers  may  be  purchased  in  endless 
variety;  carpet  bazaars  where  the  rich  products  of 
Indian  and  Persian  looms  are  displayed;  antique  stalls 
where  genuine  antiques  made  in  Birmingham  are  greed- 
ily sought  by  the  guileless  tourist;  there  are  ostrich 

149 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

leathers  and  ivory  from  the  Soudan,  and  workshops  of 
tbe  gold  and  silversmiths  and  the  worker  in  brass. 

The  flashing  jewels,  glass  and  otherwise  the  "genu- 
ine" scarab  ingeniously  manufactured,  the  really  beau- 
tiful gold-threaded  shawls  and  embroidered  silks,  the 
camel's-hair  cloths,  soft  and  silken,  all  form  an  effect 
bewildering  in  its  magnificent  coloring  and  uniqueness 
and  reminding  one  of  the  fabulous  glories  of  the  "Thous- 
and and  One  Nights." 


Pyramids  and  Sphinx 


Of  course  the  average  trave.er's  first  thought  in  visit- 
ing this  many-sided  city  of  the  desert  is  of  the  sphinx 
and  pyramids.  They  are  about  eight  miles  from  Cairo, 
and  are  easily  reached  by  tram,  carriage  or  automobile. 
There  is  no  more  delightful  road  in  the  world  than  the 
splendid  avenue  that  leads  trom  Cairo  to  the  pyramids 
at  the  entrance  of  the  desert.  Along  its  entire  length 
are  superb  and  lofty  trees. 

We  reached  Cairo  in  the  early"  evening  and  as  the 
moon  was  then  at  its  full  we  determined  to  have  our 
first  view  of  the  mysterious  sphinx  and  the  gigantic 
pyramids  by  moonlight.  It  is  by  moonlight  that  a  visit 
to  the  desert  is  so  charming,  so  we  hurriedly  secured 
a  motor  car  and  scurried  out  to  the  scene  of  the  early 
labors  of  the  Pharaohs.  Long  before  we  reached  the 
spot  the  gigantic  outlines  of  the  Cheops  met  our  view  on 
the  left.  The  pyramids  stand  just  in  the  entrance  to 
that  vast  silent  sea  of  sand — the  desert,  and  the  still- 
ness, the  solitude  and  the  immensity  inspires  a  feeling 
of  awe 

The  full  moon  rose  as  softly  as  the  bright-hued  poppy 
opens  its  leaves  at  the  sun's  touch,  and  under  its  pale, 
raellow  light  the  face  of  the  sphinx  wore  a  mystic  look, 

150 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

as  if  the  colossal  creature  were  looking  forward  past  the 
vista  of  time  into  eternity. 

There  is  a  dignity,  a  nobility,  about  the  pyramids 
and  sphinx  that  one  cannot  analyze.  The  sense  of  keen 
appreciation  is  within  one,  but  analysis  seems  impossib'e. 
The  severe,  simple,  almost  forbidding  lines  of  the  sphinx 
brings  a  feeling  of  reverence  and  the  brooding  silence 
which  clothes  it  round  about  makes  one  feel  lonely  even 
when  in  a  crowd. 

Standing  before  that  huge  stone  figure,  gazing  into 
the  sightless  eyes  which  seemed  to  be  seeing  past  me, 
at  the  voiceless  lips  that  hold  the  secrets  of  long  gone 
centuries,  awed  in  the  presence  of  that  inanimate  crea- 
ture which  perpetuates  a  mysterious  past,  I  found  my- 
self thinking  humorously  of  W.  J.  Lampton's  reply  to  a 
suffragette's  definition  of  the  sphinx.  She  said,  "The 
si  hinx  is  a  stone  suffragette  representing  the  perfection 
of  womanhood."  Lampton  replied  thusly: 


The  Perfection  of  Womanhood 

Upon   the  silent  sands 

She  stands 

And  for  some  thousand  years  has  stood, 

The  sign  of  perfect  womanhood. 

A   suffragette? 

Not  yet, 

For  thus   far  she   has  never  tried 

To   swat   man's   pride; 

Nor   by   her   frenzied   deeds 

Upset    his    creeds; 
Nor  ever  cast  a  vote, 
Nor  put  on   pants, 
Nor  had  the  whiskers  grow 
On   that  severe  expanse 

Of  face  she  shows 

151 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

To  every  man  who  goes 

Her  way. 

And  say, 

In   all   the   years   and   years   and   years 

Of  history — of  hopes  and  fears — 

Oh    ladies,  how  in  silence  all, 

The  sphinx  has  never  talked  at  all, 

The  sphinx  has  never  talked  at  all, 

The  sphinx  has  never  talked  at  all, 

THE  SPHINX  HAS  NEVER  TALKED  AT  ALL! 

Aye,  there  she  stands 

Upon   the    silent   sands, 

And  for  some  thousand  years  has  stood, 

The  sign  of  perfect  womanhood. 

Wow!  !  ! 


Travel  Trouble 

The  traveler  must  pay  fare  for  his  trunks  on  trains 
in  Egypt,  only  hand  luggage  being  carried  free.  It  cost 
me  a  pound  to  go  from  Port  Said  to  Cairo  by  rail,  and  I 
parted  with  the  greater  part  of  another  pound  to  have 
my  wretched  little  steamer  trunk,  filled  with  travel- 
stained  garments,  conveyed  to  the  same  city. 

Apropos  of  travel-stained  garments,  the  returned  trav- 
eler who  writes  newspaper  letters  advising  people  what 
not  to  take  on  a  long  foreign  tour,  should  be  suppressed. 
A  short  time  before  I  left  home  I  read  an  article  in  a 
Los  Angeles  paper  which  said  all  a  woman  traveler 
would  need  in  the  way  of  dresses  for  a  trip  around  the 
world  was  a  couple  of  tailored  suits,  one  best  and  one 
second  best,  and  one  evening  frock,  not  very  elaborate. 
That  was  all  she  would  need  for  a  tour  which  included 
every  variety  of  climate  from  the  frigid  to  the  torrid 
zone.  I  have  found  that  one  must  run  the  gamut  from 
fur-lined  garments  and  sleeping  bags  with  hot  water 

152 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

bottle  attachments,  to  the  sheerest  gauze,  with  ice  packs 
on  the  side.  And  not  only  variety,  but  quantity  must 
be  considered.  Tropical  countries  are  worse  extermina- 
ters  of  clothes  than  moths  that  corrrupt  and  thieves  that 
break  in  and  steal. 

Dresses  simply  fall  to  pieces,  and  laundered  articles 
do  not  survive  many  beatings  on  the  rocks,  which  is  the 
approved  method  of  washing  in  the  East.  In  every  city 
we  have  visited,  evening  clothes  is  the  rule  for  dinner 
for  both  men  and  women.  Indeed,  at  Cairo,  at  the  ho- 
tels, guests  are  informed  through  the  medium  of  a 
pip  card  posted  in  their  rooms,  that  to  appear  in  the 
dining  room  at  dinner  one  must  wear  full  dress.  If  the 
guest  chooses  to  dine  in  his  street  togs,  there  is  a  pri- 
vate dining  room  for  him.  So  they,  literally,  separate 
the  sheep  from  the  goats,  or  the  birds  of  fine  plumage 
from  the  barnyard  fowl  or  little  brown  wren. 

Now  how  long  would  one  evening  dress  last  donned 
every  evening  for  eight  months,  my  sisters?  About 
four  weeks.  So  my  advice  to  the  intending  traveler  is, 
take  a  large  trunk  or  two,  and  every  garment  you  pos- 
sess, and  be  prepared  to  cast  old  ones  aside  and  purchase 
new  ones  very  often. 

It  is  the  inability  to  make  himself  understood  which 
causes  the  most  trouble  to  the  wanderer  in  strange 
lands.  Woe  unto  the  person  who  sallies  forth  hugging 
the  popular  delusion  that  English  is  spoken  everywhere, 
or  that  the  miserable  book  of  "foreign  phrases  in  com- 
mon use"  will  take  him  across  the  great  gulf  of  unintel- 
ligible jargon  that  flows  all  about  him.  The  first  time 
that  he  learns  there  are  really  people  too  stupid  to 
converse  in  the  real  language,  he  dives  into  the  foreign 
l.hiase  book,  and  what  does  he  find?  Only  such  asinine 
questions  as  "How's  your  mother-in-law?"  "Do  you 
wear  flannels?"  "Have  you  a  mustard  plaster?"  and  all 
such  tommy-rot,  when  what  he  really  wants  to  ask  is 

153 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

the  time  a  train  is  to  start  or  the  price  of  an  article,  or 
about  the  location  of  his  baggage. 

I  have  learned  two  Arabic  words.  One  is  "bachsheesh," 
v/hich  means  money  or  gift,  and  it  is  hurled  at  me  hun- 
dreds of  times  a  day  by  beggars;  and  the  other  is 
"imshi,"  which  is  my  answer.  It  means,  go  away. 

The  Arab  is  a  born  diplomat.  He  may  rob  you  right 
and  left  and  deceive  you  shamelessly,  but  he  will  al- 
ways be  soft-voiced,  he  will  always  be  pleasant  and  agree- 
able. He  will  natter  and  cajole  and  his  pleading  brown 
eyes  win  you  even  when  you  know  you  are  being  hood- 
winked. He  will  say  when  greeting  you,  "God  give 
you  a  good  day,"  or  "Allah  grant  you  joy." 

Our  dragoman's  name  is  Mustapho,  and  it  should  be 
Mephistopheles.  He  is  a  finished  scoundrel  and  yet  we 
are  warmly  attached  to  him.  His  very  nerve  is  fas- 
cinating. He  wheedles  piasters  from  us  without  the 
slightest  pretext,  and  if  we  dare  refuse,  a  disdainful 
shrug  of  his  handsome  shoulders  brings  forth  the  cov- 
eted coin. 

The  Bedouins  are  the  handsomest  men  I  have  ever 
seen.  They  are  very  tall,  straight  and  lithe,  with  broad 
shoulders  and  a  proud,  dignified  carriage.  Their  eyes 
are  the  softest  brown  and  fringed  with  thick,  heavy 
lashes.  The  skin  is  olive  and  the  cheeks  are  rosy.  They 
have  long,  slender,  aristocratic  hands,  and  they  use 
them  to  advantage  in  gesturing.  The  long  dark  blue  or 
black  burnous  that  drapes  them  from  head  to  foot  and 
the  white  turban  adds  to  their  picturesqueness. 

As  to  the  beauty  of  Egyptian  women  I  cannot  vouch, 
for  I  have  not  seen  the  face  of  any  save  the  coolie 
women  of  the  lowest  class.  All  the  others  wear  veils. 
The  fellah  women,  peasant  types,  wear  black  robes  and 
a  black  scarf  over  the  head.  Across  the  face  a  black 
veil  is  hung,  revealing  only  the  eyes. 

The  Mohammedan  women  of  the  upper  class  wear  a 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

thin  white  gauze  veil  across  the  lower  part  of  the  face. 
They  also  dress   in  all  black. 

II  the  Arab  is  gentle  and  sweet-natured  to  Europeans 
and  Americans,  he  is  not  always  so  to  his  own  race. 
The  dragomen  and  donkey  boys  have  frequent  quarrels 
and  it's  laughable  to  hear  their  imprecations.  One  day 
our  Mustapho  had  a  misunderstanding  with  another 
dragoman.  "May  all  your  relatives  have  the  hair  of  a 
dog,"  said  Mustapho.  "May  your  mother-in-law  have  the 
lace  of  a  cat,"  replied  his  adversary.  Their  little  ex- 
change of  pleasantries  continued  until  the  time  for  our 
departure. 

Several  times  a  day  and  night  the  cry  of  the  Muezzin 
from  some  mosque  tower  calls  the  faithful  Mohammedan 
to  prayer.  At  dawn,  at  noon,  at  setting  of  the  sun,  and 
wedged  in  between — four  or  five  times  a  day — millions 
or'  men  turn  their  faces  toward  Mecca  and  make  con- 
fession of  their  faith. 

When  the  call  to  prayer  sounds  the  Mohammedan 
prostrates  himself  regardless  of  where  he  is  or  who  may 
see  him.  They  seem  oblivious  to  the  gaze  of  passers-by. 
As  Robert  Hichens  says,  "The  rich  man  spreads  his 
rug  and  prays.  The  poor  man  spreads  nothing  at  all, 
but  he  prays  too." 

One  day  at  sunset  I  saw  a  Mohammedan  kneeling  on 
his  rug  in  the  open  field.  The  glory  of  the  departing 
day  clothed  him  in  a  flood  of  color  wonderful  to  see. 
His  upturned  face  was  illumined — spiritualized.  It  was 
exactly  like  Jules  Guerin's  "Prayer  in  the  Desert"- 
that  wonderful  Egyptian  poem  on  canvas. 


The  Sacred  Carpet 


Either  we  have  been  fortunate  in  arriving  at  various 
places  on  the  eve  of  some  notable  event  or  fiesta,  or 
tbe  events  are  arranged  when  tourists  are  expected 

155 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

and  they  are  told  they  occur  just  once  in  so  often.  The 
wily  Oriental  is  capable  of  deception,  I  am  convinced, 
but  whether  or  not  tne  cermony  of  the  "Sacred  Carpet" 
was  coincident  with  our  coming,  by  design  or  by  acci- 
dent, I  do  not  know.  Suffice  it  to  say  a  huge  sign 
displayed  in  the  office  of  Shepherd's  informed  the 
traveler  that  the  sacred  carpet  ceremony  would  be  held 
on  the  following  day.  So  we  tumbled  all  over  each  other, 
securing  carriages  and  dragomen  for  the  event. 

It  seems  that  the  carpet  ceremony  is  one  of  the 
few  religious  celebrations  of  Egypt  that  still  retains  its 
full  significance  and  importance.  Every  year  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  men,  women  and  children  journey  from 
the  ends  of  the  earth  to  the  holy  city  of  Mecca.  Cairo's 
special  tribute  is  the  holy  carpet,  a  new  one  being  sent 
each  year  to  cover  the  tomb  of  Mohammed,  the  prophet. 

A  public  holiday  marks  the  starting  of  the  carpet  on 
its  way,  and  a  similar  celebration  is  held  upon  the  re- 
turn of  the  pilgrims.  The  events  are  the  most  important 
festivals  of  the  Mohammedan  year  and  never  fail  to  at- 
tract large  crowds  of  visitors.  The  khedive  always 
honors  the  occasion  with  his  presence,  and  the  ceremony 
ir,  one  of  the  most  picturesque  to  be  seen  in  Egypt. 

The  ceremony  takes  place  in  front  of  the  great  stone 
citadel  in  a  square  or  plaza  reserved  for  militia  ma- 
neuvers. The  procession  of  the  carpet  was  to  start 
at  9:30  o'clock,  and  long  before  that  hour  we  were  in 
the  enclosure  reserved  for  foreigners.  The  great  square 
was  lined  with  native  troops,  while  carriages  containing 
veiled  ladies  of  the  harems  and  notables  and  officials, 
filled  every  vacant  space.  The  frowning  walls  of  the 
citadel  were  lined  with  native  devotees  and  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach  were  crowds  of  eager  onlookers. 

A  salute  of  guns  from  the  citadel  announced  the  start- 
ing of  the  pageant  and  in  a  short  time  a  detachment  of 

156 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

lancers  heralded  the  approach  of  the  khedive.  Another 
salute  proclaimed  the  entry  of  the  carpet. 

The  sacred  carpet  is  carried  on  a  camel  under  a 
mahmal,  or  tent  of  embroidered  silk.  Mounted  on  the 
camel's  back  and  preceded  and  surrounded  by  police, 
the  massive  palanquin,  glittering  with  its  bullion  em- 
broidery, was  borne  to  the  center  of  the  square,  from 
whence  it  circled,  seven  times  around,  with  all  due  sol- 
emnity, to  the  accompaniment  of  a  curiously  insistent, 
blatant  melody,  contributed  by  the  massed  bands  of 
the  native  soldiery.  Eventually  it  made  its  way  to  the 
pavilion,  where  sat  the  khedive,  who  greeted  it  and  re- 
viewed the  troops  who  were  to  be  responsible  for  its 
safety  during  the  pilgrimage. 

The  ceremony  lasted  only  a  few  moments,  but  was 
full  of  interest,  while  its  setting  beneath  the  walls  of 
the  citadel  and  amid  so  vast  a  concourse  of  semi-oriental 
people  gave  it  a  peculiarly  impressive  character  all  the 
more  enhanced  by  the  glorious  sunshine  of  a  typical 
Egyptian  morning.  It  would  be  difficult  to  realize  a  more 
picturesque  sight  than  the  passing  of  this  procession, 
with  its  glitterng  mahmal  swaying  to  the  steps  of  the 
camel  bearer,  with  its  attendant  pilgrims  piping  their 
plaintive  music  and  the  followng  of  Egyptian  soldiery, 
bcth  cavalry  and  infantry,  as  it  slowly  wound  its  way 
along  the  road,  deeply  lined  with  eager  spectators,  be- 
neath those  dark,  high  walls  of  the  citadel,  from  the  top 
of  which  the  minarets  of  the  great  mosque  soared  heav- 
enward to  the  glorious  arch  of  blue. 

The  devout  pilgrims  who  accompany  the  carpet  come 
from  India,  China,  Persia,  Afghanistan,  Egypt  and  Moroc- 
co— from  remote  corners  of  Asia  and  Africa.  They  en- 
dure toil  and  privation,  risk  life  and  property,  that 
they  may  perform  the  service  to  God  which  to  them  the 
pilgrimage  means. 


157 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


EGYPT  CONTINUED 


Up  the  Nile 


To  see  the  old,  the  really  Oriental  part  of  Egypt,  one 
must  leave  Cairo  and  its  mixture  of  modern  and  an- 
cient things  and  penetrate  into  the  fastnesses  of  the 
desert  along  the  valley  of  the  Nile. 

Cairo  and  the  pyramids  and  the  wonderful  sphinx 
are  only  the  threshold  of  the  mystic  land  that  is  the 
cradle  of  civilization.  It  is  at  Karnak,  Thebes,  Abydos, 
Philae,  that  one  gets  into  the  atmosphere  of  antiquity 
— that  one  marvels  in  round-eyed  wonder  at  the  evi- 
dences of  a  work  so  stupendous  as  to  be  almost  incom- 
prehensible. 

In  a  trip  up  the  Nile  by  steamer  or  "dahabeah,"  which 
is  a  native  sailboat,  native  lire  and  manners  may  be 
observed  at  close  range.  The  boat  calls  at  many  vil- 
lages where  the  houses  are  sprawling  structures  of  Nile 
mud,  roofless  save  for  a  bit  of  thatch  over  one  corner. 
The  intervillage  life  of  the  banks  is  revealed  in  a  series 
of  old-world  tableaux;  the  quaint  native  huts  that  seem 
to  have  retained  today  the  form  of  the  days  of  Pharaoh; 
the  bronze  figure  of  the  half-naked  "fellahin"  drawing 
v,ater  for  irrigation  with  the  "shadoof,"  as  he  has  since 
the  time  of  Rameses  I.  The  shadoof  is  a  weighted  pole 
resting  on  a  crossbar  similar  to  the  water-lifting  appli- 
ance known  in  the  states  in  early  days  as  the  well 
sweep,  immortalized  in  verse  along  with  the  old 
oaken  bucket.  The  fellahin,  sometimes  two  or 

158 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

three  men,  pull  the  bucket  on  the  end  of  the  pole  down 
ii:to  the  Nile,  fill  it  and  the  weight  on  the  other  end 
raises  it  to  a  basin,  where  it  is  emptied  by  one  of  the 
men.  Above  are  other  men  drawing  the  water  up 
to  higher  basins,  and  on,  until  it  is  at  the  top  of  the 
bpnk,  where  it  is  turned  into  the  irrigation  ditches. 

The  "fellah"  woman,  in  black  flowing  robes  and 
closely  veiled  face,  revealing  only  the  eyes,  is  a  pic- 
turesque figure  on  the  bank,  balancing  the  earthen  water 
jug  on  her  head.  The  sailboats  with  their  queer  double 
sails  on  long,  tapering  masts,  glide  along,  bending  grace- 
fully to  the  wind. 

From  the  moment  the  boat  leaves  the  dock  at  Cairo, 
places  and  things  of  historic  interest  are  pointed  out  to 
the  interested  voyager.  On  the  left  rise  the  huge  pyra- 
mids, and  nearby  is  the  island  of  Rhoda,  where  tradition 
says,  Moses  was  found  in  the  bulrushes. 

The  boat  hugs  the  bank  closely,  and  we  pass  under 
the  spreading  branches  of  the  Virgin's  tree,  under  which 
the  Virgin  Mary  was  supposed  to  have  rested  during 
the  flight  into  Egypt. 

We  passed  the  ruins  of  the  old  city  of  Memphis, 
vhere  is  the  colossal  statue  of  Rameses  the  Second,  and 
the  tombs  of  sultans,  sheiks  and  sacred  animals.  Every 
community  in  Egypt  once  worshipped  some  god  that 
manifested  itself  in  the  form  of  some  animal — a  bull, 
a  wolf,  a  cat,  a  crocodile,  etc.  These  deified  animals 
could  not  be  killed,  but  when  one  died,  its  body  was 
laid,  with  much  ceremony,  in  the  stone  tombs. 

We  passed  great  fields  of  doura,  the  Indian  corn  of 
Egypt,  the  kind  that  Joseph  went  down  to  buy  for  his 
brethren;  we  passed  date  groves  where  the  huge,  tawny 
clusters  of  fruit  g^am  goldenly  in  the  feathery  green 
branches. 

Mosques  and  ancient  temples  spring  into  view  and 
beyond  the  narrow  strip  of  irrigable  land  the  desert 
sands  gleam  in  the  sun's  rays. 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

Luxor 

Of  all  the  resorts  of  Upper  Egypt,  along  the  Nile, 
Luxor,  with  its  sunshine  and  its  temples,  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  popular  with  the  traveler.  It  is  450  miles  from 
Cairo,  and  is  built  on  the  site  of  the  ancient  city  of 
Thebes — the  city  of  which  Homer  sang.  Thebes,  once 
the  center  of  learning  and  religious  thought,  is  today  a 
splendid  ruin,  a  small  village  peopled  with  natives  who 
probably  do  not  know  as  much  of  its  splendid  history 
as  we  do  and  who  care  for  nothing  save  the  piastres 
they  can  cajole  from  the  gullible  tourist. 

At  this  point  rises  on  one  side  of  the  Nile,  the  village 
of  Luxor,  with  its  magnificent  ruins  of  temples,  and  on 
the  other  the  tombs  of  the  kings  and  queens,  the  ancient 
Pharaohs.  The  tombs  are  buried  deep  in  the  brown 
cliffs  which  rise  sheer  against  the  intensely  blue  sky. 
These  cliffs  so  symmetrical,  so  commanding,  recall  to 
the  American  visitor,  memories  of  the  Palisades  of  the 
Hudson.  . 

The  temple  of  Luxor  is  right  on  the  bank  of  the  Nile. 
In  the  center  of  the  ruins  is  a  magnificent  obelisk  the 
twin  of  which  has  been  in  the  Place  de  la  Concorde  in 
Paris  since  1836.  In  the  ruins  are  also  found  a  colossal 
statue  of  Rameses  the  Second.  This  is  the  Pharaoh  who 
treated  the  children  of  Israel  so  shamefully.  The  oM 
duffer  seems  to  have  been  reverenced  by  the  Egyptians, 
for  we  found  statues  of  him  in  many  places. 
*  *  * 

Karnak 

About  two  miles  out  of  Luxor,  in  the  village  of  Kar- 
nak, is  the  ruins  of  the  great  temple  of  Karnak,  the 
greatest  temple  in  all  Egypt.  Karnak  was  for  many 
centuries  the  sacred  place  to  which  the  Pharaohs  and 
their  people  offered  treasure  to  the  gods. 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

Many  columns  of  this  once  splendid  temple  are  still 
standing,  carved  with  hieroglyphic  inscriptions  from 
v>  hich  the  Egyptologist  reads  the  history  of  ancient  times. 

The  size  of  the  ruins  is  stupendous — overwhelming. 
The  bulk  and  immensity  of  it  are  so  bewildering  that  one, 
at  first  sight,  regards  only  the  titanic  proportions,  and 
not  the  architectural  beauty. 

It  contains  13-1  columns,  each  as  large  as  the  Ven- 
dome  column  in  Paris.  The  ancient  Egyptians  knew 
not  how  to  make  arches,  so  they  had  to  choke  up  their 
temples  with  pillars,  placed  no  further  apart  than  would 
admit  of  one  stone  spanning  across  from  one  pillar  to 
another,  in  forming  the  roof. 

The  great  temple  almost  stupefies  the  visitor  by  its 
enormous  size.  Six  men  would  be  required  to  span 
the  colossal  pillars,  and  the  forest  of  columns  stand  so 
thick  that  irom  no  one  spot  is  it  possible  to  see  the 
whole  area  of  the  stupendous  enclosure. 

The  Egyptians  built  by  brute  force.  Having  no 
cianes  or  lifting  devices,  or  scaffolding,  they  heaped  up 
the  earth  around  the  building  as  it  rose,  and  thus  car- 
ried the  material  to  its  place.  Then,  when  all  was  com- 
plete, they  patiently  dug  and  carried  away  the  embank- 
ment thus  made. 


Egyptian  Sunset 


We  saw  the  sunset  one  evening  from  the  great  Pylon 
ot  the  Karnak  temple.  From  the  summit  of  this  huge 
gate\vay  we  looked  down  the  narrow  streets  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Karnak,  with  its  tumbled-down  buildings,  at  the 
headless  colossi  and  ruined  arches  in  the  great  audience 
chamber  of  the  temple,  and  we  dreamt  of  the  era  that 
they  represent.  The  romance  of  the  past  crept  out  from 
the  fantastically  curved  pillars  that  lay  dipped  in  the 
purple  shadows  of  the  sun's  declining  rays.  We  lived 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

for  a  brief  time  in  the  triumphant  reign  of  the  glorious 
Egyptian  kings.  The  sunset  probably  wove  the  spell  of 
enchantment  over  the  little  group  that  watched  so 
bieathlessly.  The  African  sunset  has  a  way  of  its  own, 
and  one  does  not  wonder  that  Hichens  felt  the  "Spell 
of  Egypt"  that  he  so  graphically  describes  in  his  book. 

As  we  watched,  waiting — waiting,  the  sun,  orange-red, 
dropped  silently  down  behind  the  furthermost  undulating 
hHock  of  sand,  and  the  yellow  gold  of  the  desert  turned 
to  dull  gray — as  gray  as  the  schoolboy's  slate  when  he 
rubs  out  arithmetical  problems  with  the  sleeve  of  his 
blouse. 

The  crests  of  the  sandspurs  illumined  by  the  last 
rays  of  the  sungod  were  as  foam  topped  waves  of  the 
sea  and  the  hollows,  where  the  shadows  fell,  were  richly 
purple. 

The  afterglow  began,  a  brilliant  purple,  which  soon 
melted  into  tenderest  blue;  then  to  faintest  green,  and 
then  by 'infinite  gradations,  to  amber  and  gold.  Slowly 
the  color  faded  and  the  sky  darkened  to  black,  as  if 
before  a  summer  thunderstorm.  The  silver  crescent  of 
the  young  moon  showed  faintly  in  the  east,  like  the 
crescent  on  the  Turkish  flag.  Later,  when  the  sky 
grew  opaquely  gray,  the  stars  came  out  one  by  one, 
until  the  whole  map  of  the  heavens  was  studded  with 
sparkling  jewels. 

The  Nile — in  the  distance — looked  like  a  metallic 
ribbon  wound  about  the  bronze  hair  of  a  colossal  goddess 
and  the  wind  sighed  gently  as  it  swept  in  from  the  voice- 
less sea  of  desert  sand. 


Tombs  of  Kings 


Across  the  Nile  from  Luxor  are  the  tombs  of  the  kings, 
many  ruined  temples,  and  two  gigantic  statues,  the 
co'.ossl  of  Memnon. 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  Y/ORLD 

The  tombs  are  vast  chambers  hewn  out  of  solid 
rock  many  hundred  feet  below  the  earth's  .surface.  The 
v/alls  of  the  tombs  are  covered  with  pictures  and  texts 
carved  into  the  stone  and  still  retaining,  after  long  gone 
centuries,  traces  of  the  brilliant  colors  used  in  the 
decorations. 

To  me  there  is  something  infinitely  sad  about  the 
tombs  of  the  kings.  The  Egyptians  had  given  so  much 
of  time  and  labor  and  money  to  the  digging  of  a  grave  fit 
for  a  king  and  far  removed  from  a  vandal's  hand,  and 
now,  many  centuries  later,  a  splendid  civilization  (?)  has 
penetrated  the  poor  secrets  of  these  long  gone  people 
and  exhibits  tha  work  of  their  hands  and  the  mummyfled 
remains  of  their  dead  at  so  much  a  look.  It  is  the  gross- 
est sacrilege  to  hang  an  electric  light  bulb  over  the  sight- 
less eyes  of  a  king  whose  greatest  desire  was  utter  and 
complete  isolation  from  the  world.  Yet  the  gaping  world 
hurries  along,  avidly  gazing  at  the  poor,  shrunken  figures 
in  the  stone  sarcophagi  that  were  not  sealed  strongly 
enough  to  exc'ude  the  vandal's  hand. 

The  island  of  Philae  is  quite  near  Assouan,  at  the  first 
cataract  of  the  Nile.  The  temp'e  of  Philae  is  small,  but 
is  counted  the  most  graceful  and  charming  of  any  in 
Egypt. 


Confusing  Things 


While  I  am  leaving  Egypt  with  genuine  regret,  it 
wi1!  be  a  relief  to  get  away  from  a  country  that  has  a 
different  system  of  weights  and  measures  from  ours; 
v/hose  clocks  register  the  time  fiorn  one  to  twenty-four 
instead  of  one  to  twelve;  whose  time  tables  say  a  train 
leaves  at  twenty-three  o'clock  at  night,  when  our  watch- 
es say  e'even;  and  whose  calendar  months,  instead  of 
being  January,  February,  etc.,  are  Ramadan,  Sefer,  etc. 

I    bought  some  veiling  in  Cairo.    I  said  to  the  clerk, 

163 


"How  much?"  She  said,  "twenty  piastres  a  metre."  I 
almost  collapsed,  but  managed  to  say  that  I  would  take 
a  metre.  It  proved  to  be  just  right,  a  little  more  than  a 
yard. 

I  ordered  some  cakes  and  candy  over  the  'phone.  The 
salesman  said  the  cakes  were  so  much  a  kilo.  I  didn't 
know  a  kilo  from  a  Scotch  collie,  but  I  ordered  five  of 
th^m.  I  got  enough  cakes  to  scatter  over  the  Nile  from 
Cairo  to  the  second  cataract,  and  the  deckhands  on  tbe 
steamer  almost  foundered  from  an  excess  of  sweets. 

There  is  an  Arab  proverb  which  says  "He  who  has 
once  tasted  Nile  water  will  return  to  drink  it  again." 
1  believe  that  if  he  does  not  return  he,  at  least,  will 
want  to,  for  as  I  draw  away  from  the  palm-fringed 
shores,  with  the  elusive  desert  beckoning  in  the  distance, 
I  feel  a  tugging  at  my  heart  that  no  other  country  save 
my  very  own  has  ever  produced. 

And  so  among  the  pearls  of  happiness  that  are 
threaded  on  my  rosary  of  life,  the  weeks  spent  in  sunny, 
langourous  Egypt,  gleam  with  a  radiance  which  will  be 
soft  and  clear  when  other  memories  may  have  lost  their 
brilliance. 


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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


FROM  AFRICA  TO  EUROPE 


Disillusion 

The  voyage  across  the  Mediterranean  from  Africa  to 
Europe  was  not  at  all  what  I  expected.  Song  and 
story  had  taught  me  to  think  of  that  vast  body  of  water 
as,  ever  and  always,  a  sparkling  summer  sea,  its  broad, 
blue  bosom  reflecting  the  golden  sunlight,  its  tranquil 
waves  bearing  along,  as  gently  as  thistledown  is  borne 
by  a  zephyr,  the  palatial  yachts  and  splendid  steam- 
ships that  navigate  its  devious  paths. 

It  seemed  to  me  that  a  sea  so  fringed  about  with 
the  romance,  the  history — art,  music  and  literature  of 
a  world,  could  be  nothing  but  calmly  dignified,  sweetly 
placid,  artistically  blue,  but — 

"Year  by  year  and  day  by  day 
Romance's   sunlight   dies   away. 
And   long  before   the   hair   is   gray 
The  heart  is  disenchanted." 

I  greatly  erred,  for  the  Mediterranean  was  a  can- 
tankerous, bumptious  old  cross-patch  from  the  time  we 
left  Port  Said  until  we  put  in  at  Naples.  Talk  of  blue 
sky  and  blue  sea!  The  perspective  about  us  was  one 
settled,  dismal  smudge  of  unpleasant  neutral  tint — a 
nasty,  coldly  repellant  gray.  Of  course  the  boat  cut 
up  all  sorts  of  didoes,  what  could  you  expect  of  mere 
wood  and  iron,  when  a  divinely  created  thing  set  such  a 
bad  example? 

165 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

We  all  sought  the  seclusion  that  the  cabins  grant 
and  stayed  until  the  worst  force  of  the  storm  was  spent. 
When  we  crept,  greenly,  out  on  deck,  the  Blonde  Capi- 
talist from  Los  Angeles  had  lost  his  jaunty,  debonair 
manner.  He  looked  as  if  he  did  not  care  whether  a 
gusher  ever  gushed  or  not.  His  wife,  the  erstwhile  dig- 
nified club  president  and  parliamentarian,  was  wan  and 
dejected.  She  couldn't  have  put  a  motion  to  save  her 
life,  but  she  probably  wanted  to  rise  to  a  question  of 
privilege  and  ask  the  captain  to  overrule  the  motion — 
of  the  boat. 

When  we  went  down  to  lunch  there  were  rails  on  the 
table  to  keep  the  dishes  from  sliding  off.  Said  the 
Widow  to  the  Blonde  Capitalist:  "How  long  is  it  since 
you  ate  from  a  trough?"  Wasn't  that  piggish  of  her? 

The  first  course  was  served.  The  captain  said:  "I 
hope  that  all  of  you  twenty-five  will  have  a  pleasant  trip 
and  that  this  little  assemblage  of  twenty-four  will  reach 
port  much  benefited  by  the  voyage.  I  look  upon  the 
twenty-two  smiling  faces  much  as  a  lather  does  upon  his 
family,  for  I  am  responsible  for  this  group  of  seventeen. 
I  hope  that  all  thirteen  of  you  will  join  me  in  drinking 
to  a  merry  trip.  I  "believe  we  seven  fellow  passengers 
are  most  congenial,  and  .1  applaud  the  judgment  which 
chose  from  the  passenger  list  these  three  persons  re- 
maining at  my  table.  You  and  1,  my  dear  sir,  are" — but 
everybody  had  melted  away,  and  the  captain  was  left 
alone. 


Italy 


But  as  all  things  unpleasant  must  end,  so  did  this 
tumultuous  voyage,  and  on  the  last  day  we  found  a 
haven  in  the  straits  between  the  Sicilian  and  Italian 
shores.  Poor,  stricken  Messina  lay  on  one  side,  proudly 
arrogant  in  her  defiant  growth,  on  the  very  site  of  the 

166 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

ruined  city.  On  the  Italian  shore  Reggio  nestled  against 
the  mountain  side,  picturesquely  beautiful.  We  steamed 
ir.to  the  bay  of  Naples  under  a  brilliant  sky,  and  found 
the  celebrated  sheet  of  water  as  blue  as  it  is  painted 
and  infinitely  more  beautiful. 

The  blue  is  such  a  warm,  deep  cerulean,  flecked  with 
lights  and  shadows  and  shading  off,  where  it  kisses 
the  sand,  into  opal  tints  and  mother  of  pearl. 

No  country  in  Europe  has  been  more  highly  favored 
by  nature  than  Italy  and  the  southern  part  of  the  penin- 
sula is  like  Southern  California  I  find  the  same  lux- 
uriance of  vegetation,  the  identical  fruits  and  flowers 
and  nuts,  the  same  richness  of  color  and  the  same  bril- 
liant sunshine.  The  one  thing  Italy  has  which  we  have 
not  is  its  history,  its  wealth  of  tradition,  its  wonderful 
remains  of  a  past  power.  The  greatest  drama  in  an- 
cient history  was  played  on  the  classical  soil  of  Italy. 
The  greatest  tragedies  were  enacted  within  its  borders. 
As  George  William  Curtis  once  said  to  the  poet  Long- 
fellow, when  they  were  discussing  the  relative  interest 
or  the  old  world  and  the  new  "It  is  not  what  you  see, 
but  what  you  feel  behind  what  you  see"  that  makes  this 
country  so  interesting. 

We  Americans  are  just  mushrooms  in  a  grove  of 
palms  and  cedars,  but  we  are  mighty  good  eating  these 
days.  The  chief  asset  of  Italy  is  the  opulent  tourist, 
and  he  is  here  in  large  numbers,  and  largely  American. 
English  and  Germans  come  to-  Italy  for  the  winter,  to 
escape  the  rigors  of  their  climate.  Americans  come  to 
see  and  compare  notes,  and  some  of  them  rush  through 
like  mad.  A  great  deal  of  fun  is  made  of  the  average 
American  traveler,  and  it  is  often  deserved. 

In  the  Holy  Land  a  party  of  Americans  landed  at 
Jaffa,  rushed  off,  pell  mell,  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  same 
afternoon  boarded  their  boat,  declaring  enthusiastically 
that  they  had  "seen  everything."  I  met  a  gentleman 

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BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

and  his  wife  in  the  Catacombs  at  Rome.  They  had  left 
New  York  just  fourteen  days  before  I  met  them  and 
•were  sailing  the  next  week  for  home.  They  had  "done" 
Europe.  I  met  a  man,  American,  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
in  the  Vatican.  He  was  armed  with  a  Baedeker  and  his 
eye  gleamed  in  triumph.  He  raced  through  those  splen- 
did rooms  glancing  hastily  at  masterpieces  of  painting 
and  sculpture.  I  am  positive  he  did  not  spend  fifteen 
minutes  in  any  room.  The  world  is  made  up  of  all 
kinds  of  people,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Newly  Rich  must 
travel  as  well  as  the  poor  people  who  would  give  up 
the  last  crust  to  indulge  their  fancy,  when  the  wander- 
lust seizes  them. 

Probably  Mrs.  Newly  Rich,  when  she  returns  home, 
will  be  asked:  "What  did  you  enjoy  most  on  your  motor 
trip  through  Egypt?"  And  she  will  reply:  "Well,  one  of 
my  most  delightful  experiences  was  hearing  the  French 
pheasants  sing  the  Mayonnaise." 


Neapolitans 


Naples  is  called  the  playground  of  Italy.  Her  people 
are  a  mirth-loving,  irresponsible  set,  the  men  and  women 
childlike  in  their  conduct,  the  children  happy,  dancing 
cherubs. 

When  our  launch  from  the  steamship  attempted  to 
land  us  at  the  Naples  pier  we  were  surrounded  by 
groups  of  laughing  singers  with  guitars  and  mandolins. 
With  lustrous  madonna  eyes  and  rosy,  pouting  lips  the 
beautiful,  girlish  creatures  begged  "Ah,  Signora,  maca- 
roni," and  many  willing  coppers  filled  the  outstretched 
palms.  There  is  a  charm,  a  fascination  about  a  people 
who  are  habitually  so  cheerful.  The  beggar  in  the  street 
smiles  at  you,  does  not  whine  as  they  do  in  India.  The 
flower  seller  thrusts  great  clusters  of  Parma  violets, 
or  creamy  camelias,  into  the  carriage  window,  and 

168 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

whether  you  buy  or  not,  she  shows  her  white  teeth  In 
an  irresistible  smile.  It  is  true  Naples  is  not  notable 
as  a  commercial  center.  Her  hotels,  her  coral  sellers, 
her  shops,  depend  upon  the  tourist,  but  the  people's 
wants  are  few  and  the  climate  induces  to  a  life  of 
somnolence  and  ease.  They  love  the  natural  beauties 
about  them,  the  sunshine,  the  flowers,  the  brightness 
and  they  live  the  simple  life.  That,  perhaps,  is  the 
secret  of  their  appearance  of  happiness. 

*     *     * 

Vesuvius  and  Pompeii 

Of  course,  every  visitor  to  Naples  visits  Vesuvius 
and  Pompeii.  I  found  Vesuvius  a  tiny,  pocket  hand- 
kerchief edition  of  the  stupendous  volcano  Kilauea,  on 
the  island  of  Hawaii.  I  rode  up  to  the  summit  on  the 
"funicular"  road  which  has  an  incline  of  55  per  cent, 
and  I  was  scared  almost  into  fits.  Will  you  please  tell 
me  why  idiots  will  persist  in  doing  things  that  frighten 
them  just  for  the  sake  of  sightseeing?  Never  again  for 
me.  Vesuvius,  on  that  balmy  January  morning,  looked 
like  a  huge  contented  cat,  crouched  in  sleep.  A  thin 
gray  vapor  arose  from  the  summit  as  if  the  cat  were 
breathing  frosty  air.  There  was  an  entire  absence  of 
anything  menacing,  except  in  that  wretched  funicular 
toad,  nothing  that  would  indicate  the  fact  that  the  Nea- 
politans expect  upheavals  at  any  time.  I  talked  to  an 
eld  Italian  who  works  about  the  station  on  the  summit. 
I  said,  "Are  you  not  afraid?"  He  replied  with  a  fatalistic 
shrug,  "No,  no,  what  the  good  God  sends,  I  am  ready 
for." 

Pompeii,  the  city  which  disappeared  nineteen  cen- 
turies ago,  is  the  most  wonderful  of  Italy's  antiquities. 
The  visitor  blessed  with  a  vivid  imagination  appreciates 
Pompeii  to  the  fullest  extent,  for  the  ruins  really  give 
one  the  impression  of  the  actual  presence  of  a  Roman 

169 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

city.  Here  are  the  walls  of  the  palaces  and  theatres,  her 
forums,  her  temples,  her  thermes.  The  confines  of  the 
old  city  are  four  miles  square  and  only  one  half  of  that 
area  is  excavated.  The  work  of  excavation  goes  on 
daily,  and  we  were  shown  skeletons  that  were  uncovered 
only  a  few  days  previous  to  our  visit,  and  which  were 
yet  unplaced. 

But  enough  of  ruins.  You  can  read  about  Pompeii 
in  any  history  of  Italy  or  in  any  European  guidebook. 
Nature  is  so  much  more  interesting  than  temples,  ruins 
and  grand  cathedrals — than  any  work  of  man's  hands. 
I'd  rather  study  nature,  be  it  a  child,  a  puppy,  or  a 
"modest  primrose  by  the  river's  brim"  than  browse 
through  musty  museums. 


Naples'  Environs 


There  are  a  number  of  beautiful  islands  within  two 
or  three  hours'  sailing  from  Naples.  Notable  among 
them  is  Capri,  with  her  famous  blue  grotto.  At  Capri 
we  visited  the  ruins  of  the  villa  of  Tiberius  Caesar,  the 
cruel  emperor  who  lived  in  the  Christ's  time.  His  villa 
occupied  a  commanding  position  on  the  cliffs,  1000  feet 
above  the  sea,  into  whose  angry  waters  he  used  to 
throw  his  prisoners  from  the  dreadful  cliffs  above.  Capri 
is  a  brilliant  jewel  in  the  great  diadem  which  surrounds 
Naples.  Nowhere  have  I  seen  such  an  entrancing  view 
of  blue  sea  and  azure  sky  as  from  the  heights  above 
the  city.  On  our  return  from  Tiberius'  villa  we  stopped 
at  a  little  rest  house  for  refreshments  and  were  en- 
tertained by  a  group  of  dancers  in  national  costume. 
They  danced  the  Tarantelle  with  all  the  fiery  tempera- 
ment, grace  and  charm  that  belong  to  these  irresponsible 
children  of  southern  Italy. 

From  Capri  we  sailed  to  Sorrento,  a  most  attractive 
little  town  on  the  Italian  peninsula,  famed  as  the  resi- 

170 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

dence  of  Marion  Crawford,  the  novelist.  We  visited  the 
late  Mr.  Crawford's  villa,  on  an  eminence  overlooking 
the  sea.  From  his  study  we  looked  over  the  broad  ex- 
panse of  rippling  water,  at  the  purple  outline  of  the 
Appenine  mountains  in  the  distance,  at  the  little  town 
nestling  amid  orange  and  lemon  groves,  at  the  vineyards 
dotting  the  hillside  and  we  ceased  to  wonder  at  the  novel- 
ist's feverish  desire  to  begin  writing  another,  so  soon  as 
cne  novel  was  finished.  In  such  an  environment,  with 
such  an  imagination,  is  it  remarkable  that  Mr.  Crawford 
was  so  prolific  in  romantic  fiction?  The  grounds  about 
the  villa  are  beautiful — a  typical  Italian  garden  with  its 
old-fashioned  sun  dial,  its  statues  gleaming  in  leafy 
nooks,  its  wealth  of  flowers  and  noble  trees,  its  charm- 
ing "tea  retreats"  with  marble  seats  and  tiled  floors. 

From  Sorrento  we  took  the  famous  carriage  drive 
to  Arnalfi  and  La  Cava.  This  drive  is  said  to  be  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world,  thirty-four  miles  of 
mountain  road,  which  following  the  curves  of  the  sea 
coast,  presents  a  constant  succession  of  lovely  views, 
rising  as  high  as  600  feet  above  sea  level. 

The  mountainous  shores  which  we  traversed  were 
thickly  sown  with  villages,  the  white  cottages  perched 
dizzily  on  precipitous  heights.  In  other  places,  in  rifts 
between  the  hills,  in  the  shallow  valleys,  the  same  lit- 
tle villages  nestled.  In  every  available  spot  that  couM 
be  terraced,  rose  row  upon  row  of  tilled  ground.  There 
were  tiny  patches  of  vineyards,  the  scant  earth  banked 
up  by  stones.  Against  these  moss-grown  stones  forming 
the  walls,  lay  the  great,  gray  blue  swords  of  the  century 
plant.  Orange  and  lemon  trees,  figs  and  olives  clung 
to  the  rock-strewn  earth.  I  thought  until  I  visited  Italy 
that  the  Japanese  were  the  best  gardeners  in  the  world, 
the  most  economical  of  the  soil.  They  cannot  compare 
with  the  Italians. 

Amalfl  is  beloved  of  artists.  It  is  said  no  other  vil- 
lage in  all  the  world  has  its  exquisite  setting.  High  up 

171 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

against  the  hills  is  an  old  Capuchin  monastery,  that 
has  been  converted  into  a  hotel.  Its  tiny  cloisters,  where 
the  Capuchin  monks  used  to  sleep,  are  now  the  guest 
rooms  for  visitors  from  all  over  the  world.  As  I  looked 
cut  from  the  vine-covered  terrace  of  that  old  monastery, 
drinking  my  morning  coffee  in  the  early  sunlight,  I  drank 
with  it  a  draught  that  I  shall  never  forget.  My  heart, 
like  a  brimming  chalice,  was  filled  to  overflowing.  The 
sea  and  sky  were  a  whirling  blur  of  brilliancy  and  color. 
The  fishing  boats  on  the  sanded  shore  beneath  were  just 
pushing  off  for  the  day's  work.  I  heard  the  musical  notes, 
"Santa  Lucia,  Santa  Lucia,"  in  a  rich  sonorous  voice, 
from  a  nearby  vineyard — it  was  thrilling,  beautiful. 
The  poet  Longfellow  wrote  of  Amalfi: 

"Sweet  the  memory  is  to  me, 

Of   a   land   beyond   the   sea, 

Where  the  waves  and   mountains   meet. 

Where    amid    her   mulberry   trees 

Sits  Amalfi  in  the  heat, 

Bathing  ever  her   white   feet 

la  the  tideless  summer  seas. 

Lord  of  vineyards  and   of  lands, 

Far  above  the  convent  stands, 

On   its   terraced   wall   aloof 

Leans  a  monk  with  folded  hands. 

*     *     * 

This   is   an  enchanted  land 
Round    the   headlands   far    away 
Sweeps  the  blue  Salernian  bay, 
With  its  sickle  of  white  sand." 


172 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 


FROM  ROME  TO  LONDON 


Advice 

It  looks  as  if  these  Browsing  letters  were  being 
turned  into  "Hints  for  travelers."  I  never  knew  it  to  fail. 
Po  soon  as  any  one  takes  a  trip  abroad  or  even  travels 
ns  far  as  Podunck  township,  he  or  she  begins  giving  ad- 
vice to  intending  travelers. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  travel  bores — the  one  who 
talks  you  to  death  after  he  gets  home  and  the  other  who 
seeks  the  medium  of  the  printed  pages  to  air  his  opinions, 
Of  the  two  evils,  I  consider  the  latter  the  lesser,  for 
you  can  throw  aside  or  burn  the  newspaper,  while  you 
can  only  mentally  consign  to  the  flames  the  one  who 
bores  you  by  word  of  mouth.  So  here  goes  and  pray  do 
not  yawn.  Speaking  of  yawning,  I  heard  a  good  story  of 
a  chap  who  traveled  quite  a  bit  and  who,  upon  his  return 
from  his  journeying  prated  endlessly  of  his  experiences, 
to  a  long  suffering  aunt.  Upon  one  occasion,  he  began 
as  usual,  "And  there  I  stood,  aunt,  with  that  dreadful 
chasm  yawning  before  me — "  "William,"  interrupted  his 
aunt  sternly,  "are  you  quite  sure  that  chasm  was  yawn- 
ing before  you  reached  there?" 

My  advice  today,  little  flock,  is  to  repeat  what  I  said 
in  a  former  letter:  Do  not  travel  abroad  without  learn- 
ing a  few  phrases  of  the  language  of  the  countries  you 
expect  to  visit.  It  Is  quite  true  that  English  is  spoken 
everywhere  but  one  does  not  always  find  the  English 
speaking  Italian,  Arabian  or  Indian.  Nine  times  out  of 

173 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

ten  a  cab  driver  will  not  be  able  to  understand  you  or 
you  him.  In  many  of  the  shops  English  is  not  spoken 
at  all  and  few  waiters  understand.  And  then,  signs  in 
a  foreign  language  are  so  misleadig  to  the  one-tongued 
person. 

I  dislike  to  confess  the  numerous  mistakes  I  have 
made  owing  to  gross  ignorance,  but  my  sense  of  humor 
forbids  my  keeping  anything  so  good  to  myself. 

The  first  German  boat  that  I  boarded,  it  was  late 
at  night  and  I  hastily  arranged  my  bath  hour  with  the 
stewardess,  without  locating  the  bath  room.  The  next 
morning,  kimono  clad,  I  scurried  down  the  aisle  look- 
ing to  the  right  and  left  for  the  women's  bath.  I  saw 
over  a  door,  the  words,  "Damen  Bad."  I  concluded 
that  was  not  it.  That  sounded  like  profanity,  so  I  went 
a  little  farther  and  found  the  word,  "Herrein."  That 
sounded  better.  "Her"  was  surely  feminine  so  I  pushed 
open  the  door  and  walked  into  an  astonished  group  of 
men  bathers. 

In  a  little  Italian  village  I  had  to  wait  an  hour  in  a 
cold,  draughty  waiting  room,  for  a  train.  Through  a 
window  I  saw  a  brazier  of  cheery  red  coals,  in  an  ad- 
joining room.  On  the  door  opening  into  the  room  was  a 
foreign  word  which  I  afterward  learned  meant  "private." 
I  walked  in.  A  fierce  looking  individual  in  uniform, 
waved  me  back,  crying  "Allez."  It  is  needless  to  say  I 
allezed. 

I  went  to  a  Catholic  college  in  Rome  to  present  a 
letter  of  introduction  which  would  secure  me  a  much 
coveted  audience  with  His  Holiness,  the  Pope.  I  went 
in  fear  and  trembling  for  I  had  not  been  coached  in  the 
proper  line  of  conduct  to  follow  in  a  college  for  priests. 
My  ring  was  answered  by  a  porter  so  Italian  that  when 
he  spoke  he  made  a  noise  like  he  v;as  gargling.  I  knew 
by  the  expression  of  his  face  that  my  airy  persiflage 
sounded  a  whole  lot  worse  to  him. 

174 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

I  presented  my  letter  with  what  I  fondly  hoped, 
was  an  ingratiating  smile  and  he  stepped  back  and  said 
something  that  sounded  sort  of  friendly,  so  I  crossed  the 
threshold.  Horror  of  horrors:  I  had  done  the  wrong 
thing,  of  course. 

A  gentle,  old  priest  finally  made  me  understand  that 
the  reception  room  for  women  was  at  another  entrance. 
I  sought  refuge  in  the  vestibule  and  wished  that  the 
door  mat,  which  had  "Welcome"  printed  on  it  in  large 
"American"  letters,  would  rise  up  and  hit  me.  A  door 
on  another  side  soon  opened  and  the  smiling  recipient  of 
my  letter  explained  that  if  only  I  had  known  a  few, 
common,  Italian  phrases  I  would  have  been  spared  the 
annoyance  and  humiliation  I  suffered. 

The  menu  cards  throughout  the  Far  East  and  on  the 
European  continent  are  printed  in  French. 

The  gentleman  from  Philadelphia  does  not  know  a 
\vord  of  French  so  he  ordered  his  meals  by  number.  I 
have  known  him  to  get  Brussels  sprouts  and  plum  oud- 
ding  at  the  same  course  and  at  another  time,  poached 
eggs  and  fried  chicken.  As  the  darkey  said  "He  got  de 
chickens  before  dey  was  done  bawn,  and  after  dey  was 
daid." 

Another  bit  of  advice  is  in  regard  to  the  pernicious 
custom  of  tipping.  Pernicious  as  it  is,  it  must  be  done — 
it  cannot  be  avoided.  But  if  you  would  save  yourself  a 
lot  of  annoyance,  let  the  hall  porter  or  concierge  of  the 
hotel  at  which  you  are  staying,  do  it  for  you.  Give  him 
ten  per  cent  of  your  bill  and  ask  him  to  disburse  it  for 
you  in  the  proper  manner  giving  each  servitor  his  share. 
For  instance,  if  you  are  a  guest  at  a  four  dollar  a  day 
hotel,  when  you  are  leaving,  give  the  concierge  forty 
cents  for  each  day  of  your  stay.  That  seems  a  small 
amount  compared  to  what  we  pay  in  America,  but  it  is 
quite  sufficient.  If  one  attempts  to  pay  one's  own  tips 
he  will  find  servitors  springing  up  on  every  side.  They 

175 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

form  a  servile,  but  insistent  batallion  and  to  run  the 
gauntlet  of  fifteen  or  twenty  outstretched  palms  is  dis- 
concerting, to  say  the  least.  A  story  is  told  of  Artemus 
Ward  oifcJxis  last  visit  to  England.  As  he  stood  on  the  up- 
per deck  of  his  vessel  just  before  sailing  he  called  to 
the  crowd  on  the  dock  below,  saying,  "If  there  is  a 
man  in  the  British  Isles  or  the  whole  continent  of  Europe 
that  I  have  not  tipped,  if  he  will  come  forward  and  make 
himself  known,  I  will  gladly  give  him  something — I  don't 
Avant  him  to  feel  lonely." 


Rome 

Every  day  the  call  of  home  sounds  clearer  and  louder 
and  after  Italy — sunny  bright  Italy,  so  much  like  Cali- 
fornia, we  shall  hasten  homeward. 

Rome,  that  splendid  storehouse  of  art  treasures  and 
architectural  wonders,  held  us  willing  captives  many 
days  beyond  the  allotted  time.  That  small  word  of  four 
letters  means  volumes.  We  think  of  Rome  through  her 
centuries  of  monarchy,  of  her  five  hundred  years  a  re- 
public, and  of  that  same  lenght  of  time  an  empire.  We 
think  of  her  kings,  her  dictators  and  triumvirates,  her 
Caesars  and  her  emperors.  We  think  of  her  in  her 
youthful  strength  and  arrogance,  and  of  her  pitiable  de- 
ray  and  consequent  fall,  and  now  we  see  her  after  years 
of  medieval  and  modern  history  again  a  dominant  power. 

Rome  stands  for  domination  more  than  all  else.  The 
fierce  domination  of  war,  the  domination  of  church,  the 
domination  of  law.  From  that  small  centre  has  radiated, 
throughout  the  world,  more  influence  for  good  and  evil 
than  from  any  other  source. 

We  gazed,  in  reverent  awe,  upon  the  Roman  Forum, 
probably  the  most  famous  structure  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  We  visited  the  palaces  of  the  Caesars  and  drove 

176 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

out  the  Appian  Way,  where  St.  Paul  walked.  We  spent 
hours  and  walked  miles  in  the  famous  galleries  and 
we  left  Rome  with  deep  regret  that  months  could  not 
be  spent  among  her  priceless  treasures  of  pictorial  and 
sculptural  art. 


Paris 

Europe  is  too  well  known  for  me  to  take  the  reader's 
time  in  airing  my  small  knowledge  of  it  gathered  in  a 
two  months  hurried  stay.  Every  newspaper  one  picks  up 
contains  some  traveler's  impression  of  some  one  of  its 
interesting  countries  or  cities.  Every  writer  waxes  elo- 
quent over  the  fascinating  charm  of  the  Italian  and 
French  Riviera,  over  the  grandeur  of  the  Swiss  Alps, 
over  the  frivolity  and  gaiety  of  Paris.  Paris  for  a  frivol- 
ous city,  is  very  wise.  She  covers  up  all  the  old  wounds 
and  scars  of  battles  with  beautiful  museums  or  tombs. 
The  eye  is  regaled — gladdened,  instead  of  saddened.  I 
have  only  one  quarrel  with  Paris.  They  have  no  speed 
limit  there  for  automobiles  and  one  never  feels  quite 
safe  in  crossing  the  streets.  It's  true  they  have  "is- 
lands" at  intervals  in  nearly  all  of  the  streets  and  they 
make  the  danger  less  menacing,  but  I  never  attempted 
to  cross  to  one  of  them  that  a  shrieking  juggernaut  in  the 
shape  of  a  motor  car  did  not  try  its  level  best  to  run  me 
down.  And  the  worst  of  it  is,  if  you  are  run  over  you 
are  fined  for  being  in  the  way.  If  you  are  killed  your 
body  is  held  as  a  ransom  until  your  relatives  pay  the 
fine. 


177 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

London 

We  crossed  the  English  channel  in  the  late  afternoon 
and  as  we  neared  Dover  we  saw  Kipling's  "Coastwise 
lights  of  England — the  lights  that  come  and  go." 
Scurrying  by  train  through  the  deepening  twilight,  we 
entered  London  at  Victoria  Station  and  it — the  station — 
looked  next  to  as  large  as  "all  out  of  doors."  London 
was  not  disappointing.  It  was  as  we  expected,  wet, 
moist,  dripping.  The  acrid  fog  and  smoke  clutched  our 
throats  ilke  a  cruel  hand  and  carefully  coiffed  hair 
straightened  out  and  hung  in  disconsolate  wisps. 

Sunday  morning  we  strolled  about  Hyde  Park  and 
Kensington  Gardens  to  Buckingham  Palace,  where  we 
saw  the  king's  guard  changed  with  all  the  solemnity  and 
ceremony  the  English  attach  to  the  most  trivial  occur- 
rence. 

Back  through  Rotten  Row  we  gazed  at  the  Smart 
Setters  riding  horseback  for  the  benefit  of  the  gaping 
public  as  well  as  to  reduce  their  own  waist  lines. 

To  get  the  atmosphere  of  the  past  as  well  as  to  satis- 
fy a  very  substantial  hunger  we  went  to  the  old 
Cheshire  Inn,  once  the  habitat  of  Dr.  Johnson  and  Bos- 
well.  We  were  served  the  famous  beefsteak  pudding 
that  Dr.  Johnson  consumed  in  such  large  quantities, 
washing  the  indigestible  mess  down  with  ale  served  in  a 
pewter  tankard.  Although  a  portrait  of  the  dear,  dirty 
old  man  faced  us  and  his  autograph  adorned  the  wall 
we  could  not  enjoy  the  sticky  pudding.  Its  only  merit 
was,  it  was  filling. 

At  Westminster  Abbey  we  attended  a  service  sitting 
near  the  bust  of  our  beloved  poet,  Longfellow.  It  is  awe 
inspiring,  that  splendid  old  gothic  structure  with  its 
vaulted  ceiling  black  with  the  marks  of  time,  with  its 
buried  treasure  of  royal  ashes  and  its  marble  tablets  to 
the  memory  of  our  old  book  friends. 

178 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

We  browsed  around  the  old  part  of  London  that 
Dickens  loved — out  Kensington  way  and  Fleet  street 
where  "Tiny  Tim,"  the  cripple,  lived,  past  Bell's  Yard 
where  Charlie  lived,  the  little  girl  in  Bleak  House  who 
went  out  washing  to  support  the  family  after  her  father 
died.  We  met  many  a  little  man  who  called  to  mind 
Moloch  of  the  Haunted  House,  who,  whatever  he  did  or 
where  ever  he  went  was  always  seen  carrying  his  baby 
brother.  There  are  still  Mrs.  Bumbles  to  be  seen  in 
Cheapside  and  Dick  Swivellers  on  every  corner. 


Brain  Fag 


After  one's  brain  has  registered  many  new  impres- 
sions every  day  for  six  months — after  the  mental  stimu 
lation  and  physical  exaltation  of  viewing  strange  sights 
and  scenes  for  so  long  a  time,  there  follows  a  sort  of 
lassitude,  a  mental  and  physical  weariness  that  dulls 
one's  sense  of  appreciation. 

After  an  ordinary  sized,  mediocre  sort  of  a  brain  is 
already  filled  with  a  chaotic  mess  of  temples  and  ruins, 
Buddhas  and  other  heathen  gods,  to  then  begin  viewing 
the  masterpieces  of  the  brush  and  plastic  art  in  the  gal- 
leries of  Europe,  is  a  sort  of  sacrilege. 

After  one  has  spent  the  better  part  of  a  lifetime  avid- 
ly yearning  for  a  glimpse  of  the  work  of  the  old  mas- 
ters and,  at  first,  feels  the  expected  thrill  of  pleasure  but 
soon  lapses  like  a  tired  horse  too  often  spurred,  it  is 
time  to  call  a  halt. 

When  one  finds  on  visiting  the  notable  galleries  that 
the  dominant  thought  is  a  dull  wonder  how  the  old  mas- 
ters could  have  covered  so  many  miles  of  canvas  unless 
thev  put  the  paint  on  with  a  hose  and  to  speculate  upon 
why  Rubens  and  Rembrandt  chose  fat  cook  ladies  for 
models  instead  of  the  willowy  creatures  we  saw  in  the 

179 


BROWSING  'ROUND  THE  WORLD 

Latin  quarter  in  Paris,  it  is  time  to  quit  and  go  home. 
Home  which  spells  rest  and  real  flesh  and  blood  babies 
instead  of  Raphael's  painted  cherubs.  Home  where 
there  is  the  welcoming  lovelight  in  friendship's  eyes  in- 
stead of  the  haughty  stare  of  a  Holbein  or  Van  Dyck 
portrait. 

Every  night  I  think  of  the  little  men  and  women  I 
left  behind — little  toddlers  just  creeping  about  mother's 
knee,  that  in  six  months  have  grown  prodigiously,  who 
will  look  at  me  with  wondering  averted  glance,  but  who 
will  eventually  be  persuaded  to  come  to  hungry 
arms.  Of  the  little  new  babies  that  have  chosen 
wisely  in  selecting  Southern  California  for  a  home 
— babies  that  I  may  cuddle  and  the  touch  of  whose 
rosy,  clinging  fingers  will  smooth  out  the  tired  lines. 
And  my  own  humble  roof  tree!  The  drawn  curtains 
and  the  easy  chair  drawn  up  in  the  firelight's  glow.  Sit- 
ting there  before  the  dancing  flames  memories  will  pass 
in  review  before  me,  memories  of  a  glorious  journey 
happily  ended.  But  uppermost  will  be  the  joy  of  the 
present — the  being  at  home. 

"God  gave  all  men  all  earth  to  love, 
But  smce  our  hearts  are  small 
Ordained  for  each,  one  spot  should  prove 
Beloved  over  all." 


180 


J£!2£!R.N_nEGIONAI-  I-*"*"*  FAOUTY 


A     000  046  338     o 


